Harry Potter 1. Initiation

Black Night Part One Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
August 1st, 1977  
  
The rain fell in sheets, but there was no lightning in sight. Every few minutes, a distant rumble of warm thunder would be audible, but it would fade quickly and leave the two girls shivering again in silence.  
  
They had been told it would be soon, and that it would be here. Nothing more, nothing less.  
  
There were suddenly soft popping noises from all around, and encircling them were perhaps twenty men, all in dark robes that the water seemed to slide off, all standing stiffly and all bathed in a sort of glow. Heat radiated from them, as if they were made of flames.  
  
There was a sound from behind them, and Narcissa started to turn, but she felt her sister's hand tighten around her own and stood still. The cold had gone, but she was very aware that the rain pounding her skin had also made her dress nearly transparent. She could feel many eyes - she could not see them, because the men all had their hoods up and it was very dark.  
  
On her shoulder, she suddenly felt a long-fingered slim hand. She felt Bellatrix on her right stiffen and knew that she was feeling the same thing - a burning sensation, a heat in her head that pushed at the back of her eyes and wasn't quite painful or pleasant.  
  
As soon as it had come, it was gone, and the hand with it, and she heard footsteps behind her, starting to pace behind the two of them just out of her line of vision.  
  
The sound of the rain and the thunder stopped, even though she could still feel the drops of water hitting her skin. The sound of the pacing continued for a moment, then it too halted abruptly.  
  
Lightning struck the ground suddenly, within the circle, mere yards from the girls, but heatless, and remaining - it did not vanish, as if it had been suspended, but it still wavered before them. The circle was suddenly illuminated in dazzling light; none of them so much as twitched. Shapes flashed dark in the lightning. A human skull, jaw open, a single black rose in its mouth, the stem extending down where the spine ought to be. A wicked silver blade, penetrating the rose's delicate center. A snake, curling itself up around the rose, ignoring the blade and the thorns that made it bleed black blood, until finally it emerged from the mouth of the skull and started to slither forwards in the light. Narcissa didn't even realize she had pulled out of Bella's grip or that she was backing away until she ran into something very solid and froze with a gasp.  
  
"Are you afraid?" a soft, hissing, cruel voice whispered in one ear. She could feel the breath tickle her cheek, but it was not hot or cool, simply. . .present.  
  
"N-no."  
  
"Are you afraid?" the voice said again. She was silent with terror, still frozen in place where she had backed into him, and then she whispered, "Yes."  
  
"Good," the voice whispered, sounding both amused and pleased. "Defiance, then truth. You should be afraid, child. You should be terrified."  
  
"I am," she heard her quavering voice say without permission from her brain.  
  
"Good." The hand was on her shoulder again, and it pushed her forwards. She stumbled, finding herself again right next to Bellatrix. Her sister's fingers wound around her own; both hands were trembling.  
  
The light vanished, leaving a blue afterimage on her eyes that would not fade. The footsteps from behind came again, and moved around until Lord Voldemort stood in front of them.  
  
His red eyes glowed with a ferocious, angry light, and he studied the girls with them, for uncountable moments of yet more silence. Then, without turning, he said softly, "Lucius."  
  
One of the men, directly to Narcissa's left, stepped forward quickly, seeming startled, and knelt, bowing his head. "Yes, My Lord?" he whispered - but despite his apparent startlement his voice was cold as ice and smooth as the black silk of the gloves that Bellatrix was wearing.  
  
"Judge this child." The Dark Lord didn't move to indicate which one, but Lucius strode forward, head held high under his hood, and stopped directly before Narcissa. She felt his eyes sweep up and down her, undressing her in his mind, appraising her. He took one more step forward so that not an inch separated them, and she barely heard the Dark Lord address a man named Severus the same way.  
  
The man before her - Lucius - reached up a hand to brush back her silvery- gold hair behind first one ear, then the other. He reached up then with his right hand and lowered his hood.  
  
Only one thought could fit into her head at that moment, because it was a loud, important thought, one larger than fear or apprehension.  
  
He's beautiful.  
  
Lucius was a young man, and his hair was almost precisely the same unusual shade as hers. His was almost as long, and drawn behind his head loosely with a black velvet ribbon. He looked arrogant but fear was in his shrewd grey eyes as they darted away from her toward the place where the Dark Lord was standing. His robes were an angry sort of black. He also wore gloves - black leather with a snake embroidered in silver. The hand that had pushed back her damp hair was still on her jawbone.  
  
His pale lips curved into a smile, and his free hand moved around her waist. She didn't realize she was closing her eyes until after he kissed her.  
  
His hands were moving, suddenly frantic, as if searching for something, desperate to find it soon, and moved across her chest and up to her neck. He was maneuvering her carefully backwards, and she felt his fingers move down ever so slightly again and find the strings tied into a careful bow that laced up the front of her dress.  
  
He was fumbling with it, and very quickly it was undone and he was loosening the strings. There was a pause and when his fingers returned his gloves were gone and he was expertly pushing her back, back, until she felt a tree behind her.  
  
She didn't care that he was doing this because he had been ordered to, she didn't care that there were almost twenty men probably watching. She had soon found out that Lucius tasted like cool mint and hot copper, and that he was very quick with his hands. She had to stop herself from crying out into his mouth as she felt his sharp fingernails dig into her skin and then she couldn't prevent the gasp that followed something his palm had done.  
  
She felt shapes his slim fingers traced into skin that she did not usually bare, and his hand still held her impossibly close to him - surely skin against skin so tightly, so seamless, would meld and fuse together forever and would that bother her? No, to be like this forever would be heaven, it was exhilaration, she was not worthy, he was a dark spirit, a fallen archangel perhaps and she -  
  
And then the burning heat was gone from her skin and she was shivering again as he stepped back, three slow steps, and turned only his head, and gave a short, sharp nod. From behind him, where his eyes had gone when he turned his head, red eyes gave a mad glint, and Lucius turned his eyes back and watched her, emotionless.  
  
She fumbled with the lacing up her dress, wishing that he could do it for her - his fingers were quick, delicate, and expert, and she was sure he would do it much faster - besides, she wanted to feel the heat of his skin on hers -  
  
She turned her head back and forth, and felt her face redden as it had not before - knowing you were being watched and watching were two different things. Severus was still against Bellatrix, pressing her to a tree, their two bodies one, the top half of her dress completely unlaced so that not a stitch covered her down to her waist, where one of his arms was hooked.  
  
As she watched, he moved back three steps just as Lucius had. Bellatrix looked startled and shivered, and their eyes met. Severus turned his head, in an identical motion, and gave a quick nod, and it was then that the soft pop!s came again and there were three people in the clearing. The sound of the rain and the thunder had returned, although Narcissa couldn't have said when, and the Dark Lord's red eyes gleamed, watching the two girls as they silently fumbled to relace their dresses.  
  
Narcissa wondered, from the identical steps and nods that Lucius and Severus had taken, how many times this had happened before, and if it had, what had happened to the other girls - there had been only men in the circle.  
  
Breathless, Narcissa straightened, her dress done up loosely, and shortly thereafter Bellatrix did the same. Bella's dress was slightly neater, slightly less with the appearance of hastiness. But her sister's face was flushed.  
  
Finally, the Dark Lord spoke. "You have been judged," he said, with cold amusement in his voice, "and you have been found worthy. If you still wish to," his eyes glinted at these words, as if daring them to say that they did not, "you may join the Fold. The oath you take with be unspoken, but it will be burned into your skin as the Dark Mark. You must pledge yourselves to me, heart and soul. You must swear fealty and follow my wishes with your life, knowing that I am the Power that binds you and any mistakes are punishable by me, no matter how small. I am the deciding factor, although you may receive orders also from Lucius and Severus, whom I believe you have met." His eyes glinted again. "All this you must swear to. Do you wish join the Fold, Bellatrix and Narcissa Black, for silence and destruction, for life or death, for despair or joy, for victory or defeat?" It seemed to Narcissa that the last word was the heaviest and most important, it was a warning of what would happen if defeat would come and scorn to say that it never would.  
  
Narcissa and her sister shared glances, and then each sank to one knee, if rather clumsily, and stumbled over each other's words.  
  
"I do, My Lord."  
  
"Yes, Dark Lord."  
  
His lipless mouth twitched into the coldest smile ever seen, and Narcissa had a feeling that that smile would inspire fear in the hearts of every soul on Earth for years to come. 


	2. Jealousy

Black Night Part Two Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
The night was the darkest and warmest Narcissa could ever remember feeling, which was strange, considering it was mid-October and the year in general had been cold.  
  
Smoke curled up before them, making her eyes water. The mission had been a hard one, and they had come very close to losing Severus, the youngest of the Fold by three months at seventeen. He was skilled and his spells were powerful, but he often left himself more vulnerable than was necessary. Under normal circumstances, the Dark Lord would have punished him for his shortcomings, but in the end, it had been Severus who had taken out the target from where he lay on the ground, sprawled in a pool of his own blood, and for that, the Dark Lord forgave him.  
  
Bellatrix being the best in the group at Healing, she was still next to Severus, her wand out, talking to him between spells, and he was responding quietly, his black eyes glittering in the firelight. As she watched, Narcissa saw him reach out his hand and touch Bella's cheek gently, and he smiled.  
  
She looked away, at the fire, feeling the muscles tighten in her own cheek. It seemed she would never have that. The only man of the Fold she had wanted, ever, was Lucius, but he seemed to dismiss her, and she had given up hoping that that might change.  
  
She glanced around the circle again at the men. Most of them were quite subdued despite the victory; the newest intiation - Rabastan Lestrange, the younger brother of Rodolphus, who had been the fourth Death Eater - was holding a small glass bottle in his hand, examining it glumly. Lucius was sitting three seats away, talking in a soft voice to the older Nathaniel Avery, who was nodding slowly. As her eyes lingered there for a moment she saw him look up at her and then away quickly.  
  
Rodolphus sat not far from Bellatrix and Severus, silent and brooding, and their key spy, Augustus Rookwood, was sitting alone - the others seemed to keep away from him.  
  
Narcissa herself sat alone as well - on one side, several feet away, was Rabastan, and on the other there was no one, although Bella and Severus were the closest that way. They were slightly outside the circle of where people were sitting.  
  
She looked over at Rabastan again - he was the only one in the circle who she could look at without emotion right now - to find that he was looking at her, too. A breif smile flashed across his face and he put a lid back on the glass bottle and stowed it in a pocket.  
  
He stood and moved to sit by her - for a moment the circle went silent, but then the soft talk started again. Rodolphus was looking at the two of them with mild interest.  
  
Rabastan was silent a moment, and then he said softly, "Are the missions always that. . .brutal?"  
  
She looked at him a bit sharply - he was staring at her with large brown eyes that were both interested and frightened. He wasn't used to the way of things yet, and hadn't been expecting what had happened.  
  
She looked down, away from him, and said quietly, "Sometimes. Not always."  
  
"How long have you been. . .?" he started to ask.  
  
"Since the beginning of August." She hadn't watched his initiation, and she wondered vaguely what happened to the men. Her Mark stung.  
  
His seemed to have, as well, because he asked next, "How long does it hurt for?"  
  
"The constant pain reduces for about a month before vanishing, but it burns still sometimes. I expect it always will." He nodded with a sigh, and she looked back at him. "I've gotten used to it. You will eventually."  
  
"I'll have to be strong, if I mean to survive in the Fold," he said almost to himself. "I was never very strong, but now I have to be."  
  
"The strength comes to you," she said, sensing his fear. "It comes to you, with time."  
  
He looked at her, and his eyes had changed, very suddenly holding something else. "I don't. . ." he began, and took a deep breath. "I don't know if I would join again, if I could make a second choice. I can't see myself surviving this. I never realized. . .Rodolphus was always stronger. I just wanted to prove that I could be strong too. I agree with the morals, I agree that the world needs to be purged of the unworthy magical, but I can't believe that I can do this." He flushed, looking away, as if suddenly ashamed of saying all that he had out loud. Narcissa had a feeling that he had said exactly what he was thinking. She looked away too, not wanting him to be any more ashamed, over at Bellatrix, in time to see her bend over Severus and kiss him hard. She looked back at Rabastan. Anything was better than watching that.  
  
He was looking at her again with that strange look in his eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I don't usually find people who won't laugh at me when I say something like that."  
  
She smiled, and kissed him.  
  
She was very aware as she did so that the circle had gone absolutely silent, that every eye was on them. Even Lucius'.  
  
It gave her a bitter sort of pleasure to know that.  
  
She pulled back after a long moment. Rabastan looked thunderstruck, but not in the least bit displeased, and he smiled at her, less shyly, looking much younger than he had a few moments before. His eyes gleamed darkly, and his face glowed as the surprise faded from it.  
  
Lucius was still staring at her.  
  
It was almost an hour later, after the fire had died, that they finally began to Disapparate home. Bellatrix finally left Severus' side, only to tell Narcissa that he was still too weak to Disapparate so she was going to lend him strength to double-Apparate. They exchanged smiles and then Bellatrix and Severus were gone, Avery and Rookwood went as well. Rabastan shot Narcissa an apologetic look and she smiled as he too vanished with his brother.  
  
Then her smile faded as she realized that this had left her alone with a displeased-looking Lucius.  
  
She fumbled for her wand to Disapparate, frantically looking anywhere but Lucius, but before she could she felt a hand grip her upper arm tightly, right around where the Dark Mark was. She winced, and looked slowly up into Lucius' face.  
  
His eyes. . .they were strange, seeming to glow almost like the Dark Lord's did - except grey, rimmed with black, instead of red. His face was tight and angry and his fingers were holding her arm so tightly she was sure she would find bruises there later.  
  
He lifted her to her feet, his eyes flickering over her face - she was sure she looked terrified - and then he smiled cruelly. His wand was in his hand, and she heard the word spoken, Imperio. Her terror melted - her fear was nothing - she was flying - everything was perfect - and there was a small voice inside her head, a smooth one that she was sure she ought to obey, saying Kiss me.  
  
And she did.  
  
Harder, the voice insisted, and she felt her trembling body almost against her will - no, not against it, with it, this was what she wanted - pressing closer to him, closer, tasting the mint and the copper again, and the voice continued, Relax, and she felt herself obey, her tenseness vanishing, letting him take control, letting him unfasten her cloak and push it to the ground. Letting his fingers as she remembered untie her robes, and then the voice continued, and she found herself struggling with the buttons of his shirt, and the voice kept talking in her head. She was only too glad to obey.  
  
His fingers stopped for a moment, and hers obediantly paused as he whispered something, still clutching her to him as if she was going to break, and there was a swirl of color. She felt the ground beneath her feet vanish and then she was standing in a room with him, a darkened room, and he had pushed her roughly against the wall, and she was whispering the words he told her to whisper, I love you I love you I love you, and the words were lost into his mouth, and he was gasping into hers, still working with the strings and buttons and zippers of her clothing. He was bare- chested now, and she was still trembling, shaking, hearing that wonderful voice inside her head.  
  
He had finally managed to push her robes away and start with her undershirt, one arm pulling at it, the other holding her right up against him.  
  
Then the cold hit her, and she was aware again, and she was still doing the same thing, obeying the commands that he had been giving her. Whirling, her mind spinning gladly, she wondered why she had broken the spell. But she was more aware now of his heat, of his smooth skin and of his hands that were now pulling her back away from the wall and pushing her onto the bed she had not even noticed.  
  
She moaned quietly - his fingers had just done something strange and she could not help herself, he pulled back for a single breath and laughed at her softly, and pulled her closer again. 


	3. Danger

Black Night Part Three Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
Narcissa hadn't returned to the apartment until early in the morning - around six, Bella supposed. She had pretended to be dismissive when Bella asked if everything was all right, but Bellatrix was fairly sure she knew what had happened, and she wouldn't forget it soon. She vowed silently to find out just how it had happened, and if necessary to kill Lucius Malfoy. No one, Ino oneI hurt her sister and got away with it.  
  
The next time the Mark burned was four days later, and it was simply for a meeting, not for a mission. It was planning, and the Dark Lord was present. Bellatrix watched Narcissa closely, and sure enough, the first thing her sister had done was glance at Lucius, a strange look in her eyes. Bella saw the man give his head the slightest of shakes and then jerk it towards Rabastan Lestrange. Looking frightened and unsure, Narcissa had swallowed and given the smallest of nods. The frightened look became more pronounced when she noticed Bellatrix studying her carefully.  
  
The meeting was uneventful - Rookwood had more information to be reported, but nothing out of the ordinary. Severus was still in bad shape, but he could walk now, and promised the Dark Lord that he would not be hindering on the mission which was three days away.  
  
The meeting was quickly over, and the Dark Lord left Lucius to give orders of preparation. Bellatrix watched him carefully and noted that he was ignoring both of the sisters, speaking to Severus first, and then Avery, Crabbe and Goyle, then Rodolphus. . .Rabastan came next, and after receiving orders, instead of Disapparating like the rest, came over to take Narcissa aside and speak to her, smiling. She kissed him again, more casually, and shook her head in response to some question. She shot Bellatrix a look then, and after a moment responded to another question. Another kiss, and Rabastan vanished. Nott had already received orders, but when Lucius motioned Bellatrix forward first she hesitated, glancing at Narcissa.  
  
But her sister seemed to be occupied, and Lucius gave her unimportant commands. She waited, listening and nodding, and when he had finished did not move. He raised his eyebrows, and she said, in a soft, unwavering voice, "If you hurt Narcissa, I will kill you."  
  
His eyebrows raised further, clearly surprised despite himself, but the cool, unmoved expression on his face remained. He made no response.  
  
"If you so much as lay a finger on her. . ." Bellatrix was aware her voice had started to waver now. Lucius' eyes flickered over her shoulder, and she had a feeling it was involuntary on his part. She followed his eyes, knowing, knowing that there was nowhere else that he could be looking. She looked back at him, cold-eyed, as he started to smile at her.  
  
"And what if she lays a finger on me, little girl? Will you kill her, then?" His smile widened as something dark stirred behind her eyes. She stiffened, glanced back at Narcissa, and moved backwards to let her sister take her orders.  
  
Lucius whispered to her, his eyes flickering back to Bella every few seconds, and Narcissa nodded slowly, and then turned to Bellatrix carefully. She glanced back at Lucius for a moment, and he just smiled, a warmer smile than she had ever seen before on his face. Narcissa joined her sister, and the two of them Disapparated.  
  
When the apartment slid back into place Narcissa turned to Bellatrix, looking betrayed and angry and on the verge of tears.  
  
"What did you IsayI to him?"  
  
Bellatrix, slightly startled, replied defiantly and honestly. "I told him if he touched you he was a dead man."  
  
"Bella!" she wailed. "How IcouldI you? I've never stopped you and Severus, and I'm older than you are, I have as much right -"  
  
"You don't know Severus," Bellatrix hissed, anger sparking in her. "And Severus and I never -"  
  
"I wouldn't stop you if you did - if you wanted to -"  
  
"I saw you kiss Rabastan, you love him too, you're playing him and he's a good man. He's not as dangerous, he's -"  
  
"Since when have you ever cared about dangerous?!" Narcissa howled, and had opened her mouth to say more when there was a loud pop from behind them. They both whirled, but the man who was standing there was possibly one of the last they had expected to see.  
  
"Oh," Sirius said, looking extremely put out and rather startled. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry, I just wondered if Andry was here."  
  
"No," said Narcissa, trying to let the anger fade, and feeling rather puzzled. "Why?"  
  
"She's not at her house, or at your parents. I even owled Regulus, she's not at my parents' either. Ted doesn't know where she is, he Flooed to my place because she was supposed to be home three hours ago and she never showed up." The usual twist of his mouth when he mentioned his parents was still present, but less so than normally. Worry creased his young face.  
  
"Tonks." Bella snorted derisively, overturning a chair by mistake and hastily setting it back up. Her face was starting to flush again. "That Mudblood - IGryffindorI. She could have made a respectable marriage, she could have continued the family's pure-blood." Her mouth twisted at the last word as Sirius' had when he spoke of his parents.  
  
"Easy on the insults," Sirius said, looking offended. "Yes, he's a Muggle- born -" He stressed the last word. "You won't even bother to meet him, though. And you've barely seen your neice, she's adorable. It's been four years, you two, you ought to get over it. Yes, and he was in Gryffindor, correct, and he's probably a much nicer guy than either of you two have." He raised his hand against the furious protests that had immediately and predictably started. "OK, enough. I've got to find Andry. Any ideas?"  
  
Bellatrix and Narcissa looked at each other and shook their heads slowly.  
  
It was then that Lucius Malfoy appeared next to Sirius with a pop, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.  
  
He took a step forward. In the few minutes since they had seen him, he had changed into Muggle clothes - a leather jacket and crisp black trousers. His eyes were wide. "Narcissa," he said urgently, starting to move towards her. "I just -" And then he froze and broke off, because there were two wands pointed directly at his heart.  
  
Sirius and Bellatrix both shot each other looks of surprise, but Sirius' was much breifer. His eyes darted toward Narcissa furiously as he stepped toward Lucius, the few days of Auror training he had taken so far obviously kicking in. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, looking alert, tense, and ready to hex the man in a moment's notice. He was covering Lucius' movements thoroughly - between himself and Bellatrix, there was no way that Lucius could escape.  
  
Bella moved into the few steps' space that still separated her sister from Lucius, and in a voice like jagged steel, whispered, "Get out."  
  
"No," Narcissa said suddenly, and Lucius seemed to sag with relief. Bellatrix and Sirius both turned to her, Sirius in obvious confusion and startlement, Bella in anger.  
  
At the same time, Bellatrix hissed, "Narcissa - no," and Sirius said, "Narcissa - what -?"  
  
"Don't try to stop me, Bella," Narcissa said, drawing her own wand. "Sirius - I'm sorry. Find Andry. Please find her. I - I just -"  
  
But Sirius was nodding, his eyes dark with anger and betrayal. "She's your sister," he said in a flat, biting voice.  
  
"I can't," Narcissa said, her voice breaking. "I can't, Sirius, I can't, I can't. I -" But she said no more. She started to move forward, shouldering past Bellatrix and staring at Sirius. She moved a step past Lucius and looked Sirius in the eye. He could see the tears glimmering in hers from so close. Lucius, looking uneasily at Sirius and even more uneasily at Bella, reached out his hand and lay it on her shoulder. She turned away from Sirius, burying her face in Lucius' leather jacket, her shoulders shaking, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders tightly. Looking up at the furious but unmoving Bellatrix, and then back at the shocked Sirius, Lucius' eyes rolled up into his head and the two of them vanished.  
  
Bella leapt forward. "That bastard!" she hissed. "He must have had a Portkey -"  
  
"He's a Death Eater, Bella," Sirius said, sounding dumbstruck, as if he could not process what had just happened and what was still happening. "They can't prove it, but victims said they saw - that they -"  
  
She hesitated, very close to telling her most-hated cousin the truth, and then nodded. "I know," she said honestly, "and so does Narcissa. But she loves him. She won't keep away from him."  
  
"Was that what you were arguing about?"  
  
"Yes," Bella sighed. "Now, I know you hate me, and I know I hate you, Sirius. But we've got to find Andry, and we've got to get Narcissa away from Lucius Malfoy."  
  
Sirius lowered his wand and nodded slowly. 


	4. Meetings

Black Night Part Four Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
"When I said we had to find Andry, I didn't mean you got to bring a circus."  
  
"Remus is not a circus. Ignore her, Remus."  
  
"Come now, if you get to bring your boyfriend, so do I."  
  
"Go on then, go find Davey Gudgeon, I'll be glad to see him again."  
  
"Ouch. Cut to the bone."  
  
"Do you two always argue like a married couple?"  
  
"We're cousins, Lupin."  
  
"No use, Bella, he knows all about the Blacks' ridiculous interbreeding habits."  
  
"I wasn't joking. I get to bring someone too."  
  
"The more the merrier. Fine."  
  
A silvery laugh from Bellatrix. "I think you know him, too."  
  
"Oh, no, Sirius, what have you done? Is it Lockhart, Bellatrix?"  
  
"Not anymore."  
  
"Fabulous. It Iisn'tI Gudgeon, is it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Avery?"  
  
"Too old."  
  
"Never stopped you. Wilkes?"  
  
"Closer, but still not there."  
  
"Rosier? You're not dating Rosier, are you?"  
  
"Of course not."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Severus Snape."  
  
A choking noise from Sirius. Small words started to issue from his mouth, "Isn't - no - slimy - can't - IfuckI -"  
  
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."  
  
"Sorry, Lupin. Nope."  
  
"What is it with your cousins and Death Eaters, Sirius?"  
  
"IFuckI. . ."  
  
"Don't be pathetic, I'll make him behave."  
  
Remus made a small noise like Sirius had. "Behave? There won't be any - don't, please -"  
  
"In front of you?" Bellatrix laughed. "I'm not one for an audience."  
  
"How far away is it?" Remus asked, in a strangled sort of voice. Sirius was actually shaking, although it was possible he was putting on theatrics Remus didn't think it was likely.  
  
"He lives on Heston and Birch Streets. Do you know the area?"  
  
Sirius shook his head slowly, but Remus cast his eyes up towards the starry sky - focusing, Sirius noticed, on the moon - and nodded silently.  
  
"Shit," Bella said. "Lupin and I could try to Apperate you there -"  
  
Sirius shook his head, back and forth, very rapidly. "I am not going to sick up in front of Snivellus Snape," he said hoarsely. Just bring him to Andry's apartment, will you? I've got to talk to Ted again, tell him to make sure to keep Nymphadora with him at all times. If the two of them are also targets -"  
  
Bella had gone paper-white. "You don't think it's the Dark Lord?" she whispered.  
  
Sirius looked at her. "Voldemort?" he said quietly. "It's possible, I suppose."  
  
"Surely not," Bella said, shaking her head back and forth. She looked as if she were about to say something more, to explain why it couldn't be, but no - she closed her mouth, shaking her head still in denial.  
  
"Come on, Bellatrix. Let's go get your boyfriend, then," Remus said, clearly slightly unnerved and very worried. He shot Sirius a fleeting look before vanishing right behind Bellatrix. Sirius stood where he had for a moment, and then he too vanished.  
  
It was a clear night, and the moon was nearly full, but it seemed that the light cast on the corner house of Heston and Birch Streets was dimmer, as if something was veilling it. Perhaps it was just that the stone was a darker material, and that the windows were grimy. It might also have been because it was smaller, and the other buildings on the block were by no means small. But whatever it was, Remus felt a stir in his heart. Bella had Apperated directly onto the steps - she must have been here often enough - but the place Remus could remember was from the middle of the street, so the door opened before he could get within Snape's view. He settled for the shadows, close enough to hear what they were saying.  
  
"Bella? What are you doing here?"  
  
"It's not exactly business, Severus, but it's not casual either." There was something about the way she said IbusinessI that Remus didn't like. He felt his heart lurch and his stomach twist - could this mean -  
  
"Would you like to make it casual?"  
  
Remus almost started. There was something in Snape's voice he had never heard before there, something - gentle, kindly, unmalicious.  
  
"Not with an audience, Severus. I promised him I'd get to the point, anyway - please, he isn't going to bit you, Lupin -"  
  
The absurdity of this statement caught Remus off guard, and he had to clap a hand to his mouth to stop from guffawing stupidly. Snape's expression was horror mingled with confusion and anger. "Why the unholy IfuckI did you bring IhimI here?" he hissed at Bella. "You know what he is -"  
  
"And does she, Severus? I thought you swore to Dumbledore you would tell no one." Remus, however, was smiling - Bellatrix had not reacted to his being a werewolf outwardly, although he supposed now that the circus comment might make slightly more sense.  
  
Both of them ignoring this, Bella put a hand on Severus' shoulder. "How are you doing?"  
  
"I'll be ready in time, if that's what you mean, I'm not going to break a promise to IhimI. I'm fairly good. I can walk properly, I suppose. So why IareI you here, in the company of one of the Fabulous Gryffindor Four of all people?"  
  
"Just be lucky Sirius didn't want to bring James along - well, technically, he did, but James was busy."  
  
Snape's eyes had widened in horror. "Sirius? You mean Black?"  
  
"I'm a Black, too, you know."  
  
"Dear fuck, Bellatrix, if you're trying to work out my worst nightmare you're hitting fairly near the target. I'm not fucking going to have anything to do with those -" The words that emitted from his mouth after that point caused Remus' eyebrows to shoot up - he didn't know several of them, and he spent time every day with Sirius.  
  
"Listen, Snape, if you'd rather I went and got Rodolphus for the job -" Remus' eyebrows went up farther - the Lestranges were another family widely known as Death Eaters and it seemed that perhaps Bella had reason to know whether or not Andry's disappearance had anything to do with 'the Dark Lord'.  
  
Snape's eyes widened in fury. "Bitch," he muttered, but it wasn't as cold- bloodedly furious as the rest of the words. "What are you making me fucking do now?"  
  
"My sister's vanished. I want to know if you know anything, and I want you to come along on the mission. Narcissa's run off with Lucius Malfoy -" Bella's voice hardened and Snape's eyebrows vanished into his greasy hair, "and I couldn't go gallavanting across the countryside with two Gryffindors, I needed help."  
  
"You want me to come with you," Snape said in a flat voice. He glared at Remus. "Is the pet werewolf safe for this mission?"  
  
"For five more days or so," Remus said casually, his eyes flickering up to the moon again.  
  
"Fine," Snape snapped. "I'm in. But you're going to pay for this, Bella." It was, to Remus' disgust, in a playful sort of way that he delivered the last sentence, and Bellatrix, after heaving a sigh of relief, wrapped her arms around Severus' neck and kissed him hard.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered. "When we find Andry, I'm going to be interested in what kind of payment you'll be wanting. . ."  
  
"You can be creative," Snape said, smiling at her fondly. If Remus had been Sirius, he would have at this point been making retching noises. As it was, he did feel slightly sick - how could she stand all that grease? - but he merely cleared his throat politely.  
  
"Do you know where Andry Tonks lives?" he asked Snape.  
  
"We could Floo there," the man suggested, glaring at Remus. "I may be better, but I don't want to waste strength on Apparition."  
  
Under normal circumstances, Remus would have been extremely curious to see what Severus Snape had in his house. Aside from the furniture - which was indeed black leather, James owed him a Sickle, he had bet in sixth year that Snape had a couch made of human skin and had simply been convinced that none of them would ever find out - everything seemed very normal, perhaps too much so. The lights were on very brightly, and Snape moved into the kitchen first, muttering something about having been cooking eggs when they arrived. A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of a handsome fireplace and Snape was holding out a ceramic jar of Floo Powder.  
  
"What's the - er - name of the place?" Snape asked, and it took Remus a moment to realize that Bellatrix did not know.  
  
"It's Tonks' Tenement," he put in, and Snape nodded, looking satisfied. Bellatrix went first, and then Snape, and in a whirl of green flames Remus followed. 


	5. Confrontation

Black Night Part Five Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
Sirius Apparated into the living room to find Ted asleep on the sofa, black rings of exhaustion around his eyes. He'd been Apparating from place to place all day, looking for Andry, and it must have taken a lot out of him - it did take a lot of strength to do that much Apparition.  
  
Instantly, worry sparked in him and he moved quickly from room to room. Worry rose in him, then fell when he found Nymphadora gurgling in her playpen. She looked up at him, and raised both her arms. "Padfoot!" she cried in delight. At three years old, her Metamorphmagus powers were likely to emerge within two years.  
  
Sirius walked over to the playpen and lifted her up, holding her on one side, bouncing her up and down slightly. He knew Andry had done this sometimes.  
  
As if she could read his thoughts, Nymphadora balled a fist and let her head rest on Sirius' shoulder - exactly as she normally did with her mother - and closed her eyes.  
  
"You tired, little pancake?"  
  
She rubbed a sleepy fist against one closed eye and nodded into his chest - she was quite an intelligent child, but quiet. She had learned to talk early, but she didn't very much now. Some of her social habits hadn't developed properly, and she had a tendancy to knock things over as she should have learned not to by this age.  
  
Sirius moved over to the bed and set her down in it gently, tucking the covers up to her chin. He smiled slightly - the number of times he'd heard and seen Andry do this! - and recited her prayer with the same movements.  
  
"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John." For each one of them he indicated a corner of the bed. "Bless this bed my child lies on." He placed a hand over Nymphadora's heart, feeling it beat strongly. "May God be with her through the night -" He drew the sign of the cross on her forehead, and she stirred ever so slightly, then lay still again. "And bless her with the morning light." He kissed his hand and placed it on her soft cheek, then moved and closed the curtains, then turned off the lamp.  
  
In the darkness, he cried himself to sleep next to the little girl's bed.  
  
He woke to the sound of quiet talking in the living room, and his wand was in his hand instinctively. He moved away from Nymphadora's bed (protect her, all angels and archangels, knowing that in this cradle lies a child of pureness and innocence and), into the hallway - and then he heard a soft voice call out, "Sirius?"  
  
It was Remus. He slumped against the wall. "I'm here," he said, relief cracking his voice.  
  
"We've been here almost half an hour, but we didn't want to wake you," Remus said, coming into sight at the end of the hallway. Concern was in his voice, and Sirius realized suddenly that he must have still had drying tears on his cheeks when they found him. "Are you all right?"  
  
Temporarily unable to speak, Sirius nodded. Remus moved closer, his eyes still dark and sorrowful, and Sirius whispered suddenly, "I put her to bed. Exactly like Andry does, Remus. I did it just the same way, it's like I - like I was replacing her, and I just feel like she's gone, forever or something and -" His voice had broken; he started to turn away but Remus put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him, and before he realized what he was doing he was sobbing into Remus' jacket and Remus was embracing him fiercely, stroking his hair with one hand.  
  
"I'm here," he was whispering. "It's all right, Sirius, it's okay." My brother, he wanted to say, my brother, I'll always be here. Brothers - he remembered their last day at Hogwarts months ago, and James staring solemnly at them as they stood behind the mirror on the fourth floor, and telling them who they were. We are the Marauders. We are a brotherhood, we are as close as family. We are Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, and we'll never be apart. We'll be in each others hearts. We are brothers. Don't let anything - and James had put hands on Remus and Peter's shoulders and stared at Sirius with a fire in his eyes - pull us apart. Don't let anyone tell you differently, ever, for as long as we live and longer.  
  
We are brothers.  
  
After a while, Sirius pulled back, wiping his eyes and moving into Nymphadora's darkened room again. Remus watched, not wanting to intrude on the silence. From the living room, he heard Bellatrix's voice. "As much as I -"  
  
The lights all over the house went out, and the windows exploded inwards.  
  
Ted woke instantly, and his wand was in his hand in a flash. There was a dead silence for a moment, and then the figures started to fly through the window and into the rooms.  
  
In the nursery, Sirius had immediately snatched up Nymphadora. The child did not cry, but her big dark green eyes shimmered with a baby's fright. Three cloaked figures moved through the window. "Remus!" Sirius screamed, watching his friend move into duelling stance. He realized with a start that Remus was willing to take them all on alone, and knew instantly that if this happened his friend was dead. "Remus!"  
  
"Get her out of here, Sirius!" Remus screamed, throwing his hair back from his face and shooting a Stunner at one of the black forms. Whoever it was had little experience in blocking, because they fell to the floor. "Get out of here!" And he actually turned away from the window and pointed his wand at Sirius. "Imperio!" The spell hit him, and everything was all right and there was a child in his arms and yes, yes, it was a good thing to go, to get out of here. He would go.  
  
He felt tears on his cheeks again as he did, and fought viciously against the voice, but it was so persuading. He jerked his head back in time to watch one of the figures' wands emit a flash of red light and to see it hit Remus square on the back. He watched his friend his brother his family fall to the ground, eyes still wide, one hand outstretched toward Sirius, and the voice inside his head vanished.  
  
"IRemus!I" But he was moving - his feet were moving and he was out of the room, there was nothing he could do now without endangering Nymphadora nothing oh Remus what have you IdoneI what have III done oh no no no -  
  
It was worse in the living room. Ted, Snape and Bellatrix were up against six more of the dark-cloaked figures, and there were already three on the ground, two Stunned and one. . .dead.  
  
Sirius stumbled, tripped and fell to the ground. Nymphadora dropped from his arms with a cry and her head hit the floor with a loud thump. She stopped moving. Sirius, winded and feeling blood seep down the side of his head - it was pounding, and he could feel a long gash on his scalp - scooped her carefully in one hand and moved over to the fire. He had snatched a handful of Floo Powder and the warm flames were licking his skin. "Grimmauld Place!" he heard his own voice cry, and with a swirl of green the room vanished.  
  
He tumbled out of the fireplace, cradling Nymphadora against his chest with one hand. He winced at the light - it was very bright - and looked dazedly at the figure approaching him quickly.  
  
"Sirius?" he heard his brother's shocked voice exclaim, and blackness came.  
  
He woke to find himself lying on a bed that he recognized as Regulus'. His brother was sitting nearby, watching him anxiously. "Where's Nymphadora?" Sirius demanded, sitting up quickly, but Regulus leapt out of his chair and pushed him back onto the bed.  
  
"She's all right, Sirius. She's all right - what Ihappened?I Your head is bleeding awfully, and Mum and Dad aren't here, I had to use a healing spell on it and I couldn't get it entirely."  
  
Sirius had just felt this - his head was throbbing suddenly and he let himself be shoved back onto his back with a moan.  
  
"What happened?" Regulus repeated.  
  
"Tonks' Tenement," Sirius whispered. "You've got to get there, you've got to help them, Regulus. We were attacked, and Remus and Bella and -"  
  
Regulus looked sick. "Sirius. . ." he said softly. "You've been out for more than an hour."  
  
Sirius stared at him in horror, feeling suddenly nauseous. "An - IhourI?" he repeated blankly. "An bhourb?! No! Regulus, you've got to get there, you've got to see what's happened!"  
  
"Sirius, it's no good. They won't have hung around there if they made it."  
  
"Remus. . ." Sirius whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Remus Lupin?" Regulus asked. Sirius, unable to answer, just lay there. Regulus looked as if he was thinking hard. "Is he pure-blood?"  
  
"What does it matter?" Sirius snarled viciously, starting to sit up again. Regulus reached out a hand to help steady him but Sirius shouldered around it, standing up with a soft, indistinct noise of pain from the back of his throat. "You've got to keep Nymphadora here," he added, "to keep her safe, Regulus, I think the Death Eaters might be after her. Or maybe Ted, I don't know, or both of them. Keep her safe, give her some food if she wants some, give her someplace to sleep -"  
  
Regulus smiled. "I already gave her some oatmeal, Sirius, and she ate it and promptly broke the bowl. Then she fell asleep on your bed, and I've left her there with Kreacher watching over her."  
  
"Do not leave that child alone with that bloody house-elf!" Sirius growled fiercely. "Keep Kreacher the hell away from her!"  
  
"She's got Black blood, Sirius, he ought to obey her as much as any other Black."  
  
"She can't even talk in coherent sentences yet, Regulus. It's just, Tired or Hungry or Down. Anyway, is she on the portrait?"  
  
"Mum blasted Andry off when she married Ted Tonks, remember? Nymphadora never appeared on it at all."  
  
"Then Kreacher won't obey her."  
  
"You got blasted off, Sirius, but he'll still obey you in a crunch."  
  
"I bet he likes telling anyone who'll listen about how Mum blasted me off the portrait, too."  
  
"Yeah, actually. Dad's getting sick of it."  
  
"I hope he does."  
  
"Listen, Sirius," Regulus said quietly, "you're my brother, all right? You don't have to act like you don't know me. We're flesh and blood -"  
  
"Filthy blood. 'Pure-blood'. I hate this. Black blood this, Black blood that. Our parents believe it and you've been stupid enough to follow them."  
  
"It's stronger blood, Sirius."  
  
"Blood is worth nothing. This - this -" He reached up to where a dark stain had stiffened his dark hair and pulled a bit of the dried blood off. "What is this worth? What is it good for? How is it different from any other blood?"  
  
"You're a Black. You're better than that."  
  
Sirius turned away, and moved out the doorway. A pause, and then he said, in a muffled sort of voice. "Take care of her. And be careful, Regulus."  
  
Then he was gone. Regulus stood slowly from his chair.  
  
"I will," he whispered, but no one heard him. 


	6. Pause

Black Night Part Six Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
He had realized rightly that he was far to weak for Apparition. Not only had he lost too much blood, but his emotions were also running high and he couldn't risk being splinched. He would have to guess, going from one place to another until he found them.  
  
First, he went back to the Tenement to see what he could find out.  
  
The living room was a disaster zone - there were bloodstains in the carpet and the furniture had been viciously slashed to bits. He looked carefully at the remains of the couch Ted had been sleeping on and saw that the slashing did not seem to be without purpose. The shape the cuts made was, very distinctly, the Dark Mark.  
  
That meant that whoever had done it had had extra time.  
  
Sirius' stomach lurched awfully; suddenly the bloodstains meant so much more and he stumbled over to the window the Death Eaters had broken in and was violently sick into the hedges below.  
  
He was afraid to go back into Nymphadora's bedroom, afraid of what might be there, but he had no choice.  
  
There were bloodstains in this room, too, and Sirius was sick again at seeing the way it appeared blood had pooled around a still form on the ground. Remus Remus Remus Remus Remus and Sirius felt tears run down his cheeks, of frustration, of loss, of anger and sadness is he even alive he's my brother he's my family he's got to be alive he can't die no this is a nightmare it's all wrong wake up -  
  
The Muggle musicbox was playing, having fallen open on the floor and miraculously left unharmed.  
  
IAnd down shall fall baby, cradle and all. . .I  
  
Sirius fled the room.  
  
The next obvious place to check was Narcissa and Bella's apartment. He looked into the jar of Floo powder and his heart leapt in hope.  
  
There was less there than there had been when he'd gone to Grimmauld Place. Could some of them still be alive?  
  
If it was only Snape, Sirius didn't know what he'd do. But he didn't even wish that death for Snape. No one deserved it.  
  
And Death Eaters probably wouldn't kill one of their own, he thought savagely as fireplaces and green flames spun a web around him.  
  
He felt solid ground at last, and felt blackness threatening him again.  
  
This time he fought at it, focusing on the blinding light.  
  
There was someone there, moving towards him. He focused, tried to stand up, and felt hands help him, carefully getting him to his feet and moving him forward.  
  
His eyes finally came back into focus, and he looked around at whoever was helping him.  
  
It was Ted. He felt his breath go out of him in relief and fear, wondering - had Ted been the only one to make it out?  
  
But no, that was Snape glancing up at him from a seat in the kitchen.  
  
"Good God, Black, what happened?" the greasy-haired man demanded, and at the same time Ted said softly, "Where's Nymphadora?"  
  
"Nymphadora's all right," he said, having to force out every word. "I - when I was going for the fire, I tripped. I dropped her, but she was okay, just a bit stunned, and I got this -" he indicated his head, "but Regulus patched it up as best he could. My parents, thank God, were out. I left Nymphadora there. Regulus will take care of her. What happened to Bella and Remus?"  
  
His voice broke at the last words and he steeled himself, vowing not to cry in front of Snape, but the man just stared at him for a moment before saying, "They'll live, both of them."  
  
Sirius sank to his knees involuntarily and gave a shudder. "I went to the Tenement to see what I could find out and I thought - there was blood everywhere -"  
  
"I killed one of them," Ted whispered, looking suddenly pale. "I killed him."  
  
"Death Eaters," Snape said, almost dismissively. "Most of them are worthless trash anyway."  
  
"How are they?" Sirius asked, not seeming to take in anything that had been said.  
  
"Bella was still on her feet when it was done," Snape said, a note of pride in his voice, but then it faded. "I had to stun her when we got here, she was going to make it worse - she got a Slashing Hex in the stomach fairly badly, but she stayed on her feet and kept duelling. She took out three others. As for Lupin. . ." He looked suddenly uncertain. "He's worse off. They Stunned him and slashed him nearly to death. Bella actually carried him, in her condition, running toward the fire. She saved his life. There is no doubt about that."  
  
"Is he going to be. . ." Sirius started to whisper, and then changed what he was saying. "Why haven't you taken him to St. Mungo's?"  
  
"Because," Snape said, slightly unkindly with a twist of his lip, "when he woke breifly, he insisted we should not."  
  
Sirius gaped. There was a long silence, and he stood slowly, then whispered in a trembling voice, "Why?"  
  
Now Snape looked stony; he looked at Ted, who looked uncomfortably at Sirius. Finally, Ted said softly, "All he said when we asked was your name. Then he was out again."  
  
"You should have taken him anyway. He might not have been lucid -"  
  
"He was," Snape said quietly. "He was."  
  
"You should have - have -"  
  
"Sirius," Ted said in a gentle voice, "you have to understand that we had no idea what had happened to you. None of us saw you Floo away, none of us knew where you had gone, and for all we knew you were bleeding to death somewhere with Nymphadora. We might never have found you."  
  
"From now on things have to be different," Snape said quietly. "For the rest of the search. If we separate, we set a time to meet each other again. If we're attacked, we set a place beforehand, at least to send word to if one of us has to go to St. Mungo's." He glared at Sirius. "Agreed?"  
  
Sirius nodded curtly.  
  
"I -" Ted looked suddenly uncertain. "Do you think I should come with you? To look?"  
  
"No," Sirius and Snape said at the same time, and then shot each other identical glares.  
  
"The thing is, Ted, they're after either you or Nymphadora," Sirius said. His voice was still wavering, but he was making an obvious effort to steady it. "It's too dangerous, and if you don't mind, I think you should go to Grimmauld Place. Regulus is strong, but if they attack, if they find her, he's going to need help. And I don't mean any offense, but if Remus and Bella are out of the search for now. . ." Sirius sighed and looked halfheartedly at Severus. "I don't want to have to worry about someone else. You aren't as trained for this sort of thing. I hope you don't take offense at this."  
  
"Not at all," Ted said quickly. "I agree. I'll go. Er. . .your parents won't kick me out, will they?"  
  
"Regulus won't let them," Sirius said, too fast. Snape shot him a look with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Cepheus might not hold for it, Black."  
  
"Tell my father three out of four of your grandparents were magical - if you're three-quarter blood it'll be enough, and if he tries the spell he's been working on - the one to see if someone is pure-blooded - well, it can't tell the difference between Muggle-born and three-quarters blood. It's rubbish," he added, suddenly viciously. "And where do you think you get off calling my father by his first name?" he shot at Snape.  
  
"Would you prefer I said 'Black might not hold for it, Black'?" Snape snarled. "Honestly, if you want to be an Auror you'll have to be better than a -"  
  
Ted cut them off rather nervously. "Do you - er - know where the Floo Powder is? I'd like to get there as soon as possible."  
  
Snape led Ted into the living room, and Sirius started to move away, towards the back hall and the bedrooms.  
  
The light was on in the first one, and he opened the door carefully. Bellatrix was sitting on the bed, and she looked up at him. An expression lit her face of such relief and an icy version of delight that he felt happy himself. "Sirius!" she breathed, and coughed. Her lips twisted. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. You?"  
  
"Severus is making it out to be worse than it is," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "I lost some blood. Nothing I'm -" She cut off, and grinned a bit, shaking her head. Her smile faded quite suddenly.  
  
Sirius moved into the room and sat down next to her. He touched her cheek hesitantly, but with real emotion, and when he pulled his finger away she looked quite surprised.  
  
"I heard what you did," he whispered. "You saved his life. Bella, I know you don't like me, but you're not half as bad as you try to be." He flashed her a smile, stood, and left her sitting on the bed.  
  
"But I am, Sirius," she whispered after the door was shut. "I am." 


	7. Truth

Black Night Part Seven Rated R Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
He opened his eyes in a darkened room, feeling his body throb with pain.  
  
The light slowly came to his eyes and they flickered quickly around, landing on the figure of the distracted man on the floor beside his bed.  
  
Sirius? he tried to say, but nothing came from his mouth. He tried again, Sirius? - but he was weak, and nothing seemed to be obeying his brain.  
  
Finally, Sirius looked up, and took in a sharp, quick breath. "Remus?" he whispered, scrambling to his knees next to the bed and taking Remus' hand in his. "Oh, God, Remus. I'm sorry. If I'd have run. . .if you hadn't had to. . ." No. No, Sirius, no - and Sirius must have seen the dark flash in his eyes, because he stopped.  
  
"You can't talk, can you?" There was something deep and sad in Sirius' eyes. Remus watched him, miserable and unable to make his head move back and forth. Frustrated, he blinked away what might have been tears or sweat or perhaps blood.  
  
"No?" Sirius said softly, and Remus saw the look in his face, recognized it instantly - the holding back look, the look that said Sirius was trying not to cry, to apologize, to call him brother and speak so that he could not stop.  
  
Remus focused, very hard, and felt his muscles obey him with difficulty. He squeezed Sirius' hand, and pain shot up his arm and into his neck and down his spine but he did not let go, did not allow himself to succumb to the pain. Tears sparked in Sirius' eyes; he saw them glinting in the dim light from the crack in the curtains, and Remus focused again, relaxing his now aching hand and forcing his mouth to listen to his brain, forcing himself to smile. It made his head pound, but the look on Sirius' face made it worth it.  
  
"Well, I'll get Snape. We've got to get you to St. Mungo's." Sirius squeezed Remus' hand gently, stood, and after a moment strode from the room.  
  
Blackness encompassed Remus again.  
  
Snape was in Bellatrix's room, talking to her softly. Sirius knocked on the slightly ajar door, and the talking ceased very abruptly. He opened it - Snape was sitting on the bed next to Bella, one arm around her almost protectively.  
  
"How is he?" Bellatrix asked immediately.  
  
Sirius didn't hesitate. "He isn't good. He woke up, while I was in there. He couldn't talk, and he seemed to have a hard time moving at all - it looked like it took effort for him to smile -" He ignored Snape's mutter of, "How surprising." "And he really looked bad. I think we should take him to St. Mungo's."  
  
"What about you?" Snape asked, looking at Bellatrix's face closely. "Don't say you're all right if you're really not. You're in no condition to fight, we'll have to get a Portkey so you won't have to if it comes to that."  
  
Bella glared at him, but said grudgingly, "I. . .do you think we could have someone just look at it, see if it really needs more treatment? There's no way I'm staying behind, but. . ." Sirius noted with a pang of worry that, very uncharacteristically, she hadn't argued at the suggestion she shouldn't fight.  
  
Snape nodded, still studying her, and Bella looked up at Sirius. "How about you?" she asked.  
  
"It's not bad," he lied quickly. The truth was that his head was pounding and he felt weak - it had started to bleed again. It was quite bad. But if he was right, there would be time for him to get some sleep - there was no way they would leave Bella behind, so she'd have to be tended, which would probably take a couple hours. Maybe he could get something to eat, too. He felt hunger running through his body. But he wouldn't tell them that. "Regulus healed it a bit, anyway."  
  
"Did he?" Snape said, not looking up. "It looks terrible."  
  
"I don't need it to be looked at."  
  
"Maybe they can judge that. We all have to go there anyway, Black."  
  
Sirius nodded bitterly. "Fine," he sighed. "Fine. If you insist."  
  
He started to turn. Colors swirled in his eyes, and blackness closed around him.  
  
By the time he had woken, he was lying on a bed in St. Mungo's with bandanges wrapped around his head and three people sitting on his left.  
  
He turned his head slowly - the next bed over was Remus, and then Bella - after all, their injuries all fit into the category "Spell Damage". In between his bed and Remus were a young man with very messy dark hair, another, shorter with mousy hair, and a young woman whose hair was bright red and pulled back into a complicated, twisting bun.  
  
James was pacing, staring at the floor. Lily was watching him worridly. But Peter was sitting in a chair, twisting his hands in his lap and looking at Remus. After a moment, Peter's eyes darted over to Sirius' bed and he jumped out of his chair. Lily and James both followed him quickly over to Sirius' bedside.  
  
"Are you all right, Sirius?" Peter demanded at once.  
  
"Mmmph," said Sirius. "I'm fine. I just - what happened?"  
  
"You fainted," Lily told him quietly. "Snape said something about you insisting you didn't need medical attention and then falling into a dead faint."  
  
"He was smirking," Peter added distastefully. But Sirius was looking at James, who was being quite unusually silent, just staring at him.  
  
There was a silence. "I'm all right, Prongs," Sirius said quietly. "I swear I'm all right. As a matter of fact -" With a forced grin, he slid his legs off the side of the bed and stood. He was obviously not meant to be a longer-term patient anyway, as he was not wearing a hospital gown or an identification tag. "I'm absolutely fine."  
  
James' mouth tightened. His eyes were still worried, but he started to smile. "No one could keep you down for long, Padfoot."  
  
Sirius didn't answer this time, but looked over at Remus. He took in a sharp breath; Remus did look better but the damage was more evident in this light. He was quite pale and breathing heavily. James spoke again, in a soft but heavy voice.  
  
"The Healers said that he actually might be able to leave tomorrow. You haven't been here long, the medicine hasn't kicked in yet."  
  
Sirius nodded, and tore his eyes away from Remus, looking over at his cousin's bed instead. She looked fine; Snape was sitting silently in a chair next to her, holding her hand. "She'll be fine. They said she could probably be released tomorrow morning," Lily said. "From what I hear, she seems to have developed a bit of a connection to Remus."  
  
Sirius turned, looking at Lily in confusion. "What do you mean?"  
  
"She never used to care," Lily answered, more quietly. "She kept asking about him, demanding the Healers tell her whether he would be all right. Snape seemed right angry about it - he seems to be a bit jealous, I think."  
  
Sirius was glad that she would be all right, but he felt his heart tighten in his chest and his muscles tense. Tomorrow morning, Lily had said. That was another day before they could look for Andry again.  
  
Then again, he thought, perhaps not. He looked around the room carefully - Remus had just stirred slightly, and Peter and Lily were looking down at him. Sirius glanced at his friend's pale, sweaty face and felt a horrible rush of guilt again. He looked on - Snape and Bellatrix were currently occupying themselves, and he continued to look around.  
  
James was looking right at him, staring fixedly. Sirius looked away, but he had only a second to study the wall fixedly before he felt a hand on his arm. He looked back reluctantly at James, and followed his friend out of the room to the hallway.  
  
"What is it, Prongs?" he asked quietly. James was silent a moment.  
  
"Bellatrix," he said abruptly, his voice quiet but sharp.  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"She's with Snape?"  
  
"Yeah. What a choice."  
  
"And from what I hear, Narcissa is with Lucius."  
  
"Hardly a better choice on her part."  
  
"Odd that the two of them would meet Lucius and Severus and start dating almost at the same time, don't you think?" James tones were impatient and cutting, he seemed angry. "I mean, Lucius is six years older than Narcissa, isn't he? He's twenty-three?"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose."  
  
"And the two of them are both suspected Death Eaters, as we both know from training."  
  
Sirius nodded a bit glumly, looking away from James' icy hazel glare, and then froze. His eyes darted back to James' face. His throat was suddenly dry, he felt as if he hadn't had water in days. He failed speech twice, and then said hoarsely, "Are you suggesting they. . ."  
  
A bar of steel and understanding formed between hazel and dark blue, and Sirius pulled his eyes away.  
  
"No," he said quietly. "No. I know you mean the best, James, but I can't believe that. You don't know the two of them - they like control, I don't think they'd ever settle for being under Voldemort. And. . ." And I can't believe Bella wouldn't have told me. And I think I would have seen it before. He couldn't finish.  
  
"Sirius," James said, his voice softened now. "Remember when you tried to get in touch with them to see if they were all right after the London Incident in September?" There was a pause, and Sirius opened his mouth.  
  
"How about after the Surrey attack?" A pause, to let it sink in. "The Betler killings?" Another pause. "The capture of Revellen Brown?" Another. "The siege on the Hufflepuff Refuge?"  
  
"Lily wasn't at home after that when you tried to get in contact with her, but I don't see you accusing her of being a Death Eater."  
  
He regretted it as soon as he said it - it had been a tip-of-the-tongue sort of thing, something you think but don't mean to say. Before he could apologize, James had snatched him by the front of his robes and shoved him against the wall, hard. His teeth were bared; the light in his eyes was furious and frustrated.  
  
"Don't ever say that again," James hissed. "Don't you ever say anything like that again."  
  
He released Sirius abruptly. Both of them were trembling.  
  
"I'm sorry," Sirius said softly. "I'm sorry, and you know I didn't mean that. But you're wrong."  
  
James stared at Sirius for a moment. "When this is over," he said quietly, "ask them. Promise me you'll ask them, Sirius."  
  
Sirius hesitated a moment, but then, "I promise."  
  
James nodded, moved over to the wall, and sank slowly to sit on the floor, his head buried in his knees for a moment. Sirius took a few steps over and sat down next to him.  
  
Finally, after a long pause, James' muffled voice said, "Sirius, I've got to tell you something."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
For a while Sirius thought that James had changed his mind, or lost his nerve to say whatever it was that he was about to say. Then finally James raised his head, and his face was positively glowing. Surprised at this change in emotion, Sirius waited for it.  
  
"Sirius, I think I - I mean, I think Lily and I - I think we could really work. I mean, you know, I think we - we're serious about it. I - she told me day before yesterday - she asked me if I wanted to get married eventually - she said she really loved me and - I mean, we're going to wait, obviously, I don't think either of us are ready, but - I think it's going to work, I think it's already working a lot better than at school." He was practically babbling. Sirius grinned, truly delighted, momentarily forgetting his troubles enough to be happy with James.  
  
"That's awesome, Prongs! Er - are you going to tell her about the - er - the Animagus thing? I mean - later on?"  
  
"Well, yeah, of course, I mean, if we're married, or even engaged, or maybe - I mean, not yet, but I'll tell her when it's the right time, early enough so that she won't be angry that I didn't tell her before, and I - well, you know, I'll have to explain being gone once a month to help Remus - oh God, it's almost the full moon, too - but I just - God, Padfoot, I'm just so IhappyI."  
  
"Just remember," Sirius said, with a sudden wicked grin, "she works around magical animals, and someone will notice if the unicorns don't like her anymore." 


	8. Wrong

Black Night Part Eight Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
But before long Sirius' happy mood dissipated, and when Lily and James and Peter left, Sirius was left anxious once again. Andry was out there, somewhere, and wherever she was she was in danger. She could be hurt, lying on some cold dungeon floor and bleeding slowly, she could be being tortured, or -  
  
His thoughts were cut short when Snape stood abruptly. He strode over to where Sirius sat. "Don't do anything stupid like trying to go out on your own, Black," he hissed. "I've had an idea, and I'm going to find something out about this. I'll be back in a few hours."  
  
On a hunch, Sirius pretended to look curious. "Where are you going to be looking? Mightn't it be quicker with two people?" he asked innocently.  
  
Snape just shot him a withering look and strode out. Sirius felt a growl rising in him, low in his throat. An idea. Had a sudden summons, more like. And Bella wasn't going - this only proved that James was wrong. In his fierce triumph and relief that he had been right, he failed to notice that his cousin was wincing and holding one hand to her arm.  
  
After a moment, Bella spoke. "You wouldn't do something like that, would you?"  
  
"Like what?" Sirius said, knowing.  
  
"Going off to find Andry on your own."  
  
There was a silence. "I was going to," Sirius said frankly. "She's out there and she needs help. Death won't wait until morning."  
  
She winced, and looked as if she wanted to harshly tell him that Andry was not dead would never be dead couldn't be dead I won't let her be dead please please please let her be all right. . . "We'll know soon. I've got a hunch. Severus' source ought to be reliable, anyway."  
  
There was a long silence. "He's a Death Eater, isn't he?" Sirius asked, trying to force all emotion but bland interest from his voice. All he succeeded in doing was making himself sound ridiculously uncaring.  
  
"He doesn't exactly confide in me," Bella said, and Sirius looked at her. Her eyes said she was telling the truth. "And frankly, " she added, "I'm not sure if I'd care if he was or not." Also true, Sirius saw, and was disappointed in her.  
  
He looked down at Remus. Indeed, time seemed to have been the key. He looked very much better than he had before, almost his normal color. The bandages were still painful to look at, too.  
  
As if obediently fulfilling his hopes, Remus stirred slightly, gave a soft moan - which, Sirius supposed, had to be better than being unable to make any sound at all - and his eyes opened.  
  
He started, and his eyes focused on Sirius. "How long have I been out?" he asked. "How long since I talked to you?"  
  
"Maybe three or four hours," Sirius said quietly. "How do you feel? Are you all right?"  
  
"My neck aches like hell," Remus replied with a snort. "Why do hospitals always use too many pillows?" Lifting his head slightly, and, Sirius noted, being very careful of his bandages, Remus reached back and took three of the four pillows out from under his head. He sank back into the last with a sigh. "Much better."  
  
"You missed the Marauder meeting."  
  
"Not quite, actually," Remus said, smiling. "I was half-awake for a bit, I heard James moaning to Peter that you and I both looked 'like fucking hell, except paler and more unconcious'. Then I heard Lily telling him off for swearing in a public place. That can't have been too long before you woke up, because I sort of hung between sleep and no sleep for a while. Then I heard you wake up, but I must have fallen asleep again, because I don't really remember much after you reassured James that you were fine."  
  
"They said you're going to be able to be out by tomorrow afternoon. You know, you can go relax at home or whatever."  
  
"The hell with that!" Remus said vehemently. He lowered his voice. "I'm not staying at home while you go gallavanting about with a couple of - I mean, with a Death Eater and Bella, who is not, from what I see and hear, in wonderful condition."  
  
Sirius had gone silent and his face was dark. "What were you going to say?" he asked softly.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"A couple of. What were you going to say?"  
  
Remus was silent a moment. Then - "I was going to talk about this later, Sirius, but I guess my mouth's been a bit to slow for that. All right. Sit down. I need to talk quietly."  
  
Sirius did, still tensed and dark-faced.  
  
"When Bellatrix and I got to Snape's," Remus said softly, "Bellatrix told Snape she wasn't there 'on business'. She also mentioned the Lestranges when Snape didn't want to have anything to do with me, said if he preferred she could go and get Rodolphus. There was a lot of strange stuff going on. And also - I mean, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, they're two of the people most involved in the Dark Arts, most likely to be Death Eaters, and your cousins are dating them. Both of them apparently met those two at the same time, both started dating them around the same time. . .I just think it's something you ought to think about, Sirius. I think you ought to confront her about it."  
  
"First James and now you," Sirius muttered, feeling angry but even more unnerved - Remus and James together had logic that was almost solid enough to make him believe it, and either of them alone had arguments that made him at least consider it. "He thinks the same thing. I promised I'd ask Bella after this is over, all right?"  
  
"Sirius, if Andry's been taken by the Death Eater's there's a good bet that one of them might know what's happened to her."  
  
Anger sparked in Sirius' heart. Bella and Narcissa could not know, they couldn't. Andry was their IsisterI. Surely, even if they were. . .Death Eaters. . .surely they didn't know.  
  
But Sirius was afraid, and he was anything but certain.  
  
***  
  
Severus Snape was not in a good mood.  
  
He strode up to the circle late, only to find that everyone there was waiting. For him. Surprised, he knelt before the Dark Lord, kissed the hem of his robes, and stood at his place in the circle.  
  
"I wonder where the missing member of our circle could be," the Dark Lord said quietly. His eyes were on Severus, who knelt again. Bowing his head, he said quietly, "My Lord, I regret to bring you the news that Bellatrix cannot be present. She was injured in the attack -"  
  
"Attack, Severus?" the soft voice said, and there was actually an emotion in it - surprise, perhaps? Confusion? "Whatever do you mean?"  
  
Suddenly, Snape felt a cold stab of fear in his heart. "My Lord, I was at Tonks' Tenement when several figures attacked there. They appeared to be Death Eaters, and from what I hear your Mark was slashed into the furniture. Bellatrix was with me and she was injured in the attack, she is recovering at St. Mungo's."  
  
The Dark Lord was silent, and Snape knew he was displeased and perhaps unnerved. "I ordered no attack, Severus," he said finally, quietly. "Can you think of a reason why I would want the family?"  
  
"My Lord, Andromeda Tonks went missing recently. I suspected other sources until during this attack. The child Nymphadora Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, Master, and since you have been drawing those with the powers of disguise and illusion to you I considered the possibility that you wished to take the child until her powers developed so that you could bend her to your will. The child's father, Ted Tonks, is a Muggle-born as well, so I also thought you might consider him good sport."  
  
There was another silence around the circle. Snape took the opportunity to look around, and saw something that surprised him. Both Lucius and Narcissa were absent - and the Dark Lord had not commented on IthatI. Something was going on here that he did not like.  
  
"Thank you for the information on the Tonks family, Severus, it may come into my plans later. I am also curious to discover why your attackers are making their movements appear to be my doing. However, there is a question I have for you, Severus, concerning your story. What were you doing at the house of a Muggle-born, and if you suspected the figures to be my people why did you not join them?"  
  
"My Lord, I was at the Tonks residence because of Andromeda Tonks' absence."  
  
"Please explain this. I do not think your connection is clear."  
  
"Bellatrix Black and I are. . .close, My Lord. Andromeda Tonks is her sister and I wished to help her. We were planning on speaking to the Mudblood Ted Tonks."  
  
"Very well. And as for the second part of my inquiry?"  
  
"There were several other people there, My Lord, and I do not believe that I could have defeated them all. The attackers were clumsy but the other people there already did not trust me and one of them was escaping before I was even relatively sure that it could be the Death Eaters. If he had seen me attacking the others, my cover would have been blown, and the others who fought there were strong. They very well might have been able to overpower me."  
  
The Dark Lord's eyes frightened him, and Severus stood very still. At last, his master nodded, and turned to the Fold in general, starting to speak of the upcoming strike, leaving Severus lost in his own mind, confused over the mystery at hand. This would take some thinking. 


	9. Maria

Black Night Part Nine Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
Bella was asleep by the time Severus got back.  
  
He ignored Sirius altogether, moving swiftly to Bellatrix's side and sitting down, face bloodless and eyes glinting angrily. He sat there a moment, and then reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking it slightly. "Bella," he whispered. Her eyes shot open.  
  
"What is it?" she demanded. "What did you find out?"  
  
He moved his hand off her shoulder and took her hand, squeezing it tight as if he was afraid she would vanish. "Severus," she said softly, more carefully. "Is she. . ."  
  
He looked away breifly. "It wasn't the Dark Lord."  
  
There was a silence. "But Sirius said that the Dark Mark had been slashed into the furniture," Bella whispered. His hand squeezed hers painfully tighter. His eyes were those of a child - uncertain, emotions overlapping one another, such a hint of suddenly lost innocence that she could have cried just looking at him. "And Nymphadora - Andry -"  
  
"It wasn't him," Snape's voice became duller, flatter, and something else flickered behind his eyes - pain.  
  
"What happened?" she asked him. He let go of her hand as if it had burned him and stared blankly at the wall. She reached out and touched his cheek; he pulled away, startled, as if he was a stranger. She let memories of time with him cascade back, and the truth dropped on her hard - the only time he had IeverI flinched away from her was when he had been put under the Cruciatus Curse. Several times in a row - the Dark Lord wasn't one to go lightly. "Oh," she said, and he looked back at her. "Oh, no, Severus, why?"  
  
"Perhaps he was displeased with my story," he said, softly. "Perhaps I was not paying attention to what he said. Perhaps he was bored. Or a mix of the three. I do not know. When he does, you never do." He said this all as if he was teaching her something. Bellatrix, after all, had been one of the lucky few never to have been subjected to the Cruciatus.  
  
He took her hand again, almost convulsively, and shuddered, his eyes rolling breifly into his head, perhaps as he let himself be absorbed in the pain. She sat up carefully, and touched his cheek again, and he only shivered, and opened his eyes, and pushed her gently back onto the bed. "Don't hurt yourself," he whispered, and kissed her.  
  
It was a harder, fiercer kiss than she was used to, and also a more deliberate one. But he was clearly also pained to do it, because he was still shivering as he did so.  
  
Slowly, though, slowly, the shivering stopped.  
  
***  
  
Regulus was actually having quite a good time.  
  
Not that he would have admitted it to anyone, of course. His friends were all living out their seventh and last year at Hogwarts, but he wouldn't be returning until December due to circumstances beyond his control. Not that his parents blamed him, of course, with the Mudblood-lover as Headmaster.  
  
No self-respecting seventeen-year-old Slytherin would have ever admitted that he was having fun with the three-year-old half-blood daughter of two Gryffindors. Despite this, he was having the time of his life.  
  
He'd told Kreacher to clean something in the attic - just to keep the stupid house-elf out of their hair. Nymphadora had been quite refreshed when she woke and had demanded to 'play'.  
  
Thusly, proud Regulus Black, Slytherin and pride of his family, seventeen years old, spent almost three hours, running in circles from the little girl and yelling his lungs out, occasionally on command picking her up and twirling her around in circles until she screamed with laughter and her hair turned from brown to blond to fiery red uncontrollably.  
  
She was actually quite a cute little toddler, and when the two of them sat at the table, breathing hard and laughing, Regulus actually wished that he had had a little sister.  
  
Throughout this her father had been watching and sleeping at intervals, and Ted wasn't a half-bad fellow either. He was very respectable.  
  
Of course, he was still a Gryffindor and a Mudblood.  
  
***  
  
The next morning dawned cold and clear. Crystals of frost still clung to the grass, and Sirius' breath misted before him. He had, in a determination to prove his manly resistance to the cold, not worn his cloak, and instead walked down the Muggle street shivering madly. Apparition or Floo Powder would of course have been quicker, but it would also have meant having to wait around until visiting hours, and at least this way he felt as if he were doing something.  
  
Bella was going to be released at nine, in only three hours.  
  
Damn, that seemed like a long time.  
  
So Sirius decided to go shopping. He found a Muggle car lot and began to carefully examine all of them - he had learned to drive at the age of fourteen and was actually not as bad a driver as everyone suspected - he wasn't reckless and he didn't go over the Muggle speed limit.  
  
Well, not much.  
  
There were sports cars or all colors and makes, from America, the Orient, one from Egypt that looked as if whoever had made it had rather an obsession with gadgets. There were also more luxurious cars, with smooth leather seats that screamed industrial. There was also a convertible, which Sirius looked at for quite a time and actually considered investing in.  
  
Then he saw the motorcycles.  
  
It was love at first sight.  
  
There were six of them, but one looked terribly bulky and another two were as tacky as a motorcycle could ever be. Another was too - well - IMuggleI - it had far too many extra attatchments and uses. The other one he dismissed because the color of paint was wrong and it had an ashtray. Honestly. Not that Sirius didn't have the occasional cigarette - all right, more than occasional, but an ashtray on a motorcycle was far too impractical.  
  
It IwasI an ashtray, wasn't it?  
  
The last motorcycle on the line was perfect, and she was also on sale.  
  
That did it. She was his.  
  
He went into the mens' room and Apparated instantly to Gringotts. He had a fair amount of money from his Uncle Alphard even after buying his house, so he asked the goblin how much gold the scribbled Muggle amount was.  
  
In the end, he gave the salesman his money - all of it - without a test drive. Oh, no. This sweet baby was going to have some adjustments made. The highways were not Sirius Black's land.  
  
He named her Maria.  
  
***  
  
Severus was beginning to get impatient. Black was twelve minutes late.  
  
Twelve minutes, sixteen seconds. And counting.  
  
He could tell that Bella should probably still rest for the next few days from the way she clung to his hand. He was not, however, stupid enough to mention this. He had made that mistake before.  
  
They were standing outside the enterance, both shivering. Bellatrix looked worried. She shot him a look, and then said nervously, "Do you think something's happened to him?"  
  
Snape suppressed the urge to tell her not to get her hopes up, and settled for, "It's not impossible, I suppose."  
  
Bella opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off by an ungodly roar from down the street.  
  
Both of them jumped, and Snape started to go for his wand. He froze with his hand in the pocket of his Muggle jeans and let out an audible sigh. Bella shot him a look, perhaps wondering if it had been a sigh of relief or exasperation.  
  
Sirius Black, grinning rougishly with gleaming eyes, sat before them on what Snape could only describe as a nightmare.  
  
"God, Sirius, were you ItryingI to attract attention?" Bella asked.  
  
Like an eager child, Sirius nodded frantically.  
  
A grinning Muggle boy was staring at the contraption. "Hot cycle!" the child cried out.  
  
"Thanks!" Sirius shouted back. Then to Bella and Snape, "Isn't she a beauty?"  
  
Snape looked torn, as though he wanted to still be clutching his heart in horror, but had settled instead for glaring at Sirius and grinding his teeth.  
  
"By the way," Sirius added, turning off the engine and steering it closer, "did you find out when Remus is getting out?"  
  
"He had an argument with the mediwitch," Bellatrix said with a bit of a grin. "They compromised on eleven this morning."  
  
Sirius bit his lip. "Well, there's not much we can do in two hours."  
  
"Are you crazy?" Snape demanded. "He'd only slow us down, now, Black. There's no use, your pet will have to stay at home."  
  
"Severus -" Bella began in annoyance. Sirius cut her off.  
  
"Snivellus, I've warned you time and again, but I swear, if you don't stop with this little let's-see-how-far-we-can-go-in-insulting-the-ickle- Gryffindors game, I swear I'll boil your skin off and make you eat it."  
  
Bella had a hand over Snape's mouth before he could respond. She glared at both of them. "We're never going to find Andry if you two don't shut up. Stop with the threats, stop with the insults, stop with the glares. I'm sick and tired of this. We're not here so you two can have a chance to argue. Now, we'll wait for Remus to really start looking. The Ministry's doing what they can now at Ted's, maybe they'll pick up something we didn't. That's where we want to start now, anyway - tracing her steps. Agreed?"  
  
Neither of them answered. Bella nodded as if they had, however, and made as if to start to walk away. She didn't make it very far, however - after only a couple steps, she stumbled a bit and stopped, leaning on the wall. Sirius and Severus were there in an instant.  
  
"I'm all right," she whispered, protesting as they both tried to help her. "Don't. I'm all right."  
  
They sat down on a bench, waiting, and finally, Sirius broke the silence.  
  
"So," he said with an air of greatness, as if they should be anticipating something, "want to come for a spin, Bella?" 


	10. News

Black Night Part Ten Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
The WWN had been crackling in the background for some time, occasionally announcing the time, the weather, or making some comment on current events that was nearly always biased or incorrect. It seemed very out of place, even considering that it was being utterly ignored, in the large room.  
  
Silver and green tiles and a snake carved into several of the instruments shouted Slytherin from miles away. Under normal circumstances, Narcissa would have loved it, and loved this house. The circumstances under which she had come to be in Malfoy Manor, however, were anything but normal.  
  
She lay on the floor with a blanket (green) folded under her head, staring out at the stars at one of them which was quite prominent at the time - the Dog Star. Lucius was asleep next to her, his arm curled around her shoulders quite comfortably. He was just as beautiful when he was asleep, perhaps more so due to the abscence of cold emotions, and occasionally she would take her eyes off of the sky and look over at him. Why couldn't everything be perfect?  
  
The WWN announced suddenly that it was eleven o'clock, and that they would have an update on the situation after these messages. She sighed, and filtered the sound out once more.  
  
The Andromeda constellation was also quite beautiful tonight. She had been avoiding looking at it deliberately, and felt tears fill her eyes again. Sirius. Andry. Bella. Lucius.  
  
The Dark Lord's voice in her head, his eyes moving from Lucius and staring at her, And perhaps, Lucius, you should discover where her loyalties truly lie.  
  
She shivered. The night had rarely been so cold and lonely with Lucius there, and the wind had never sounded so mournful, and the sky had never seemed so dark, and her heart had never felt so black -  
  
Black. Black. Black. The word echoed in her head. I could be a Malfoy. I could join him. I could be happy. I could leave the name of Black behind. Behind. Behind. Behind.  
  
"And we're back with Wizarding Wireless Network News, we do indeed have more information on the attack thought to be the work of the Lord - well, you know who."  
  
Attack?  
  
"Having taken place last night, the attack on the residence of Ted and Andromeda Tonks -"  
  
She sat bolt upright. Lucius stirred beside her, murmering something indistinct.  
  
"- is now thought to have been the most recent atrocity of this Dark Lord. Rumors that several of the followers, who call themselves Death Eaters, were killed, is unconfirmed, as when help arrived at the Tonks residence the house was empty. The attackers appear to have come in through the windows and found resistance, but the outcome is unknown. There were at least two defenders, as blood was found in two different rooms and signs of a fight taking place in both were clear. Experts now suspect that six or more attackers had expected to find Mr. Ted Tonks and his three-year-old child alone in the house, but found that Mr. Tonks had visitors, trained well in defense and attack, perhaps relating to his wife Andromeda Tonks' recent disappearace. If you believe you may have information regarding what has already started to be called the 'Tonks Incident', or you know something of the whereabouts of Ted, Andromeda, or Nymphadora Tonks, please send an owl, Apparate, or Floo to the Auror Division of the Ministry of Magic, who confirm that it appears some of the defenders at least escaped by fire."  
  
"Lucius," she whispered, now frightened. "Lucius, wake up."  
  
His grey eyes opened and focused on her, taking in at once her obvious fear.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" he whispered.  
  
"Did - the Dark Lord -" Her throat was dry. She could not think, could not see anything beyond his face. "Did he order - an attack? Last night - the WWN just said -"  
  
But Lucius had frozen momentarily. After a moment he shook his head, reaching up a hand and stroking her cheek gently.  
  
"No," he said softly. "The Dark Lord ordered no attack. No, all that he has done recently is to delay the next strike. There was no attack last night."  
  
"My sister -" she whispered. "My sister - oh, Lucius, they attacked Andry's home, they attacked Ted and Nymphadora and -" And Sirius, she wanted to say, perhaps Bella as well but certainly it was Sirius who was there -  
  
Lucius' eyes closed, darkening as if a shutter had been pulled to keep out any trace of emotion or light. He sighed slowly, letting his hand fall from her cheek and pulling his head up, propping himself on his arm. She saw the unspoken question in his eyes, and shivered, because the wind was mourning more, suddenly, and it was so much colder.  
  
She settled down, facing him in the same position, propped up on an elbow. "You're shivering," he said quietly, studying her carefully. "Are you cold?"  
  
She didn't answer, but he had waved his wand and the ceiling of the observatory was closing again. Sirius was out of sight and within seconds Andry was gone as well. She felt tears fill her eyes. Lucius lowered his wand slowly, fingering it as if he wanted to use something else with it - perhaps he was longing to do Dark magic. It was, as far as Narcissa could tell, addictive, and he appeared to be hooked on it.  
  
But she drove that thought out of her mind, and forced a small smile onto her face, cocking her head slightly the way Lucius had said he loved, and then leaning forwards to kiss him, feeling herself relax enough to let more emotions break through, happiness, content, love - I love him, she thought wildly, I love him, I love him. And she didn't have to ask if he loved her as well, not only because she could feel it in his hands and lips but because he was murmering it as his fingers touched her face, delicately, carefully. I love you I love you I love you I love you.  
  
And then they had pulled back, and she settled down on her blanket again, his face buried in her hair, his breath tickling her cheek, and she thought to herself before she fell asleep, This is what it means to be happy.  
  
***  
  
Remus could not help the pang of worry that came when they were late.  
  
Would they search without him? Sirius had at least promised that they would be there when he was let out - but the streets were clear - perhaps they had found something that they could not leave for the moment, and they would be around later. Should he stay?  
  
He moved over to sit down on the bench, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. The next thing he knew, a voice to his left was saying, "Tired, Moony?"  
  
He opened his eyes, and realized with a burst of embarrassment that he must have fallen asleep. Sirius was sitting next to him on the bench, looking utterly relaxed and also quite alone, staring at him, grinning but with worried eyes.  
  
Remus just twisted his mouth, glancing around, and asked, "Where are Bella and Snape?"  
  
Sirius' grin threatened to slice his ears viciously in two. "Oh, they're coming," he said with a note of glee in his voice.  
  
There was an odd noise from off to the right, and Remus twisted his head. A motorcycle - bloody Muggles. It was getting louder, coming closer, and he strained to see it -  
  
What he had not expected was to see Severus Snape driving it.  
  
Snape pulled it to a halt, looking shaken. Bella, who was clutching him from behind, climbed off carefully and then helped Snape pry his fingers from it. The two of them walked up, Snape actually shaking, Bella looking torn between amusement and worry as Sirius had.  
  
"Well, it looks like the two of you had fun," Sirius commented slightly nastily.  
  
"Oh, yes," Bellatrix said, slightly breathlessly, but she did look as if she'd just had the time of her life.  
  
"Speak for yourself," Snape hissed, "and if you ever try to blackmail me into riding one of those - those IthingsI again -"  
  
"We'll know she's lost any shred of sanity that remained," Sirius said. He was laughing, which worried Remus, because Snape looked on the point of pulling out his wand and hexing random things, or not-so-random things, in front of the Muggles and all. "Honestly, Snape, was it really that bad?"  
  
"Yes," Snape said, gritting his teeth. "Yes, Black, as a matter of fact it was."  
  
"Well," Sirius said, suddenly businesslike. "I'm going to find a place to Apparate Maria home -"  
  
Remus did not ask who Maria was, he thought she had made herself prominent enough.  
  
"- unless of course you want to ride her, Remus."  
  
"No thanks," he said quickly.  
  
"Oh, come on, you know you'd like it -"  
  
Feeling slightly bad about manipulating Sirius this way, and then erasing his ashamedness when he realized that Sirius was manipulating him, he said quietly, "It's not that I don't think it'd be fun, I just - I really don't know if I - well - feel up to it."  
  
"Oh," said Sirius, his eyes widening and his grin fading quickly. "Right. Well, I'll meet you three at the Tonks' place in maybe ten minutes. Okay?"  
  
Snape nodded curtly, and Sirius saluted them before zooming off. As soon as he was gone Bellatrix burst into peals of laughter.  
  
"What's so funny?" Snape demanded, looking suddenly angrier.  
  
"Oh -" Bella gasped. "Oh - I'm not laughing at you, Severus, it's just - oh, Remus, that was excellently funny - way to worm out of it - oh, the look on your face when he asked - quick thinking, though, I mean - honestly, though -"  
  
Snape looked sour. Remus realized with a jolt of understanding that this was the first time Bellatrix had ever called him by his first name.  
  
The three of them moved slowly into a secluded alleyway and Disapparated. 


	11. Search

Black Night Part Eleven Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
A.N. In Black Night, Andry seems to be older than Narcissa. Oops. Narcissa is currently twenty-one, whereas Andry is twenty-four. Bella is nineteen. Okay? Sorry about that. Oh, and the Marauders are all seventeen, except James who is eighteen, and Lily and Snape are seventeen too, and Lucius is twenty-three, and - um, I know Avery is twenty-nine. Okay? Ah yes. Barty Crouch, who-we-do-not-encounter-in-Black-Night, is sixteen.  
  
The signs and their knowledge had led them along a dusty road to the marketplace of the Tonks' village. It was Muggle, or course, but they were very helpful and knew about Andry's disappearance - though of course the house had been warded strongly and they could not see it.  
  
Snape stayed back distastefully as Sirius and Remus spoke to the woman who had been selling tomatoes on the day Andromeda had gone missing.  
  
"Yes, she came and browsed mine, but she didn't buy any."  
  
"Did it seem like anything was wrong?" Remus asked the woman.  
  
"Well," and she pursed her lips, "now that you say so, she did look a tad bit upset. Perhaps one of the local lads was rude to her, they have InoI respect. But she smiled at me, and asked me how my kittens were, polite as anything. She's rarely in town, but when she is she makes sure to talk to everyone. We're all so worried about her, you know."  
  
"Yes," Sirius said quietly, "I know the feeling. Well, thank you very much. Do you know where she went after coming here?"  
  
"She said she was late," the woman said, looking curiously at Snape and Bella, "and she hurried off that way -" she pointed down the road, "probably to the tea shop or the pub."  
  
"Late," Bella said quietly, "did she elaborate on that at all, madam? Did she seem to mean that she was late for meeting someone, or for being home, or. . .?"  
  
"Well, I would think to meet someone, but I'm afraid I really don't know. What time is it, she asks. Oh, it's about five to three, I told her, and she gives a great start. Oh, I'm already late, she says in a sort of wail, and snatches up her things and rushes off."  
  
"Her things," Snape said softly. "A purse, woman? Or a - a grocery bag?"  
  
"It was a breifcase and a purse, sir," the woman said, "but not a traveling breifcase, it was very small. Only big enough for a few papers or such, I imagine. Something from whatever line of work she has, I would reckon."  
  
"Ted never mentioned her having a breifcase," Sirius said in a low voice. "Well, I thank you very much, madam."  
  
"Oh, it's no problem, sir. We in town would just hate to see Andromeda hurt."  
  
***  
  
Looking torn with pained indecision, Lucius watched Narcissa from the doorway. She was searching through her things for a traveling cloak. She had slept, but now it was late afternoon and she was not going to be delayed any longer. Outside, frozen rain and sleet were pelting from the sky.  
  
Finally, he came into the room and picked the cloak up from where it was folded on the bedside table. He handed it to her silently, and gave her a Malfoy fastener - he had broken hers, and the new one was intricate silver and black twisted into the shape of a snake. She gave him a forced, fleeting smile, and started to swing the cloak about her. He arrayed it over her shoulders and she let him, and then when she failed to be able to fasten the clasp his fingers brushed aside her clumsy ones and secured it for her. She looked into his face as he did so, and he fought to keep it free of emotion. He fussed over the cloak then, figiting with it, until finally she caught his hands and clutched them, and together they lowered them slowly.  
  
"You're afraid," she whispered, her eyes studying his.  
  
"I don't want to lose you," he replied in kind. "I can't lose you. Don't go. It isn't safe."  
  
"And being here, with you, is safe?" She gave a sharp laugh that startled him - it was harder, colder. "Your definitions are strange, Lucius Malfoy."  
  
"Teach me the proper ones then."  
  
"I can't. I can't, Lucius, she's my sister."  
  
"What can you do that they cannot? Sirius Black and Bellatrix will be able to trace her as well or better than you could. Bellatrix has her connection, and your cousin has his Auror training." His mouth had twisted at the words 'cousin' and 'Auror' but he managed to keep his eyes at zero.  
  
Narcissa didn't answer, for a moment, and when she did it did not truly give him any assurance. She kissed him, hard and soft and fierce and gentle, and he pulled her closer, his arms around her. Perhaps if he didn't release her, if he didn't let her go, she would stay with him, stay here and away from the dangerous matters into which she was trying to -  
  
But she pulled back from him, back from his lips and arms, and rearranged her cloak, pulling it up so that her face was shadowed, and fiddled slightly with the clasp. Finally she whispered, "I've got to go. If I don't go I'm worse than worthless. She's my blood, she's my family, and she needs help. Why shouldn't I go? Why should I stay out of danger, hiding here and waiting for news?"  
  
Almost, almost, he tried to say something, to speak, not another protest, not exactly, but simply a statement. When it came out, it was something comepletely unrelated and different.  
  
"Because I love you."  
  
Her shadowed, beautiful eyes filled with tears. "That's not fair," she whispered, shaking her head and looking away. "That's not fair, you - I - I can't just leave her to die, to - I can't. I can't, Lucius, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I - I love you - I love you - but -"  
  
"All right," he said softly, and reached up a hand, brushing her cheek. "All right. Wait a moment. Let me get my cloak."  
  
***  
  
It had started to drizzle by the time they had made their way to the pub, a place called UThe King's Best RadishesU. It seemed similar to the Three Broomsticks from the outside, but the inside was actually not far from the Hog's Head - filthy, with a questionable company. The barkeeper was the difference - when Sirius walked up to the pub, the man looked up with a smile.  
  
"Can I get anything for you, gentlemen and good lady? Damein Yeard's the name."  
  
"We were wondering whether you remembered seeing Andromeda Tonks in here recently," Sirius said in an undertone. "She might have been meeting someone. It was on the afternoon that she disappeared."  
  
"Miss Andry?" the man said, and nodded. "Oh, yes indeed, sir. She met a foreigner, I think. They were discussing business - not that I was listening in, just from the scraps I heard when I took their orders. Miss Andry got a butterbeer, but the man got white wine. That fellow didn't look like good folk, if you get my meaning. I don't think Miss Andry liked him at all - she was all white and nervous-looking, you know, frightened- like. I did ask her after the man had gone if everything was all right, but she said she thought it would be now. I think the man left angry, and I did tell the police about this. One of them said he'd pass that along, but as I never caught the fella's name -"  
  
"What did he look like?" Snape asked in a soft, dangerous sort of voice.  
  
"Well, he had strange hair - I don't think it was natural, either, some fancy dye - it was a sort of red-gold, like rust on straw. I couldn't get a good look at him without looking suspicious, like, but you know, I think I'd place him at about forty. Tall, he was. He took a little breifcase that she gave him, as well, and he looked all around before leaving. You know, I think that man was off in the head. A bit strange, you know. Well, if you won't be wanting anything, then. . ."  
  
"No," said Remus quickly. "But thank you very much."  
  
"Best of luck to you with finding Miss Andry," the man said, his expression changing from amusement to worry and hope rapidly. "We miss her around here. She didn't come in here often, and never got anything but butterbeer or milk, but no one could ever forget her. She had us all laughing till we cried sometimes, or actually all-out crying with some of the stories she told. Wonderful lady, I can't wait to hear the news that Ted's got her back safe and sound at his house."  
  
"Oh, do you know Ted as well?" Sirius asked, seemingly with little interest.  
  
"Oh, yes," the man said, "me 'n Ted, we grew up together. He and I, we were best friends. We - er - met at school, as kids. I also knew Miss Andry there a bit, you know. But Ted and I, we met on a train to a - a private school, when we were eleven."  
  
Then with a wink and a grin, the bartender moved off to serve another customer, leaving the other four shocked silent. 


	12. Patronus

Black Night Part Twelve Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
By the time they had finished interrogating Damein a second time - this time in the back room, with him adding in the fact that he had heard the man threaten to put Andry under the Imperius if she didn't 'do as she was told' - the drizzle had turned into sleet and frozen rain pelting down on them. Sirius had conjured a large umbrella when they were out of sight, and the four of them were huddled under it, Snape next to Bella in the back, and Sirius and Remus in the lead.  
  
"I don't understand," Remus was saying. "Why are we going this way? What did we find out that leads us in this direction?"  
  
"For a werewolf, you're particularly unobservant," Bella said softly, almost teasingly. "I thought you were supposed to have excellent sight and hearing."  
  
Sirius muttered something indistinct, and Remus turned towards him, exposing a shoulder to the outside corner of the umbrella and swearing rather badly when his Muggle sweater's sleeve was instantly soaked.  
  
"Excuse me, but which of us was the one who caught onto Jasin's plot in fourth year?" he demanded. "I don't remember IyouI overhearing the plan or seeing him sneak his wand into the hat."  
  
"Doran Jasin?" Snape asked with sudden interest. "Wasn't that the boy who got expelled for -"  
  
"Yes," Sirius and Remus said at the same time. "I caught him," Remus explained. "Please don't tell Regulus, any of you, he'd kill me."  
  
"Doran and he were best friends," Sirius said with a shrug. "Slytherin year-mates, the only ones of the year, correct? Ah! Look at this!"  
  
He bent down, but Remus had thrown out an arm and snatched him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back upright.  
  
"Wait," he whispered. "Don't be foolish, Sirius, it stinks of Dark Magic."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course it does, and I was supposed to know that how?"  
  
"You were supposed to let professionals check it out first, how about." Remus reached into a pocket and pulled out a glove, then reached down and lifted the wand, carefully examining it. He closed his eyes tightly. "Everyone be careful. Move back, take the bloody umbrella."  
  
Snape got a glimpse of what it was they were arguing about as he gladly obliged - a wand.  
  
"What's Andry's look like?" he asked Sirius.  
  
"That," Bellatrix answered, surprisingly calm. "Blue spruce and dragon heartstring, twelve and one-half inches, quite sturdy. That's it."  
  
"I think it's a Portkey," Remus said quietly, "and also armed with several hexes. Of course, I can't be sure, but I think they hoped that some idiot like you, Sirius, would do exactly what you were about to do. You'd be burned to ashes, or asphyxiated, or slashed to bits, and then Portkeyed to wherever - the middle of the Red Sea, or the Headquarters of Voldemort. Either one would suffice."  
  
"But Voldemort did not order the attack, or Andromeda's disappearance," Snape said stiffly.  
  
"Your sources are, I don't doubt, reliable," Sirius shot at him.  
  
"Just because the Dark Lord did not orchestrate the attacks, or my sister's disappearance, does not mean that the people who did are not in some way connected to him," Bella said quietly. It struck Remus that the only other people who called Voldemort the Dark Lord were generally his followers, and he wasn't sure if Sirius had noticed this as well, but his friend's face was stony.  
  
"So what do we do?" Sirius asked Remus after a moment of silence.  
  
"I can try to dismantle the charms, but if I deactivate the Portkey charm by mistake, we could lose any hope we have of discovering where it would lead us. Since the attackers seem to think quite a lot of themselves, it might lead us directly to them, and in turn. . ." Remus trailed off, letting Bella finish for him. Her eyes had dulled to haunted.  
  
"Andry," she whispered. She looked up at Remus. Then at Snape, and then to Sirius, and back to Remus again. "How strong are you?" she asked him, in a flat voice that told him this question was necessary.  
  
Sirius spared him an answer, however, by saying in a slightly dry voice, "Well, after - er, in our sixth year, he threw me across the common room without looking short of breath. Er - right after a full moon." He looked thoroughly uncomfortable, and it didn't take Bella long to figure out why.  
  
Bellatrix bit her lip, looking quite unlike herself. "Well," she said quietly. "Well, perhaps. . . perhaps magic is the road to take, then. . .can you produce a Patronus?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"When did you first learn it?"  
  
Remus looked uncomfortable. "My fifth year."  
  
"What form does it take, and how big is it?"  
  
Again, he looked uncomfortable and hesitated for a long moment before saying, "It takes the form of a stag. Normal-sized for a nearly-adult male stag."  
  
Bella's eyebrows raised at how specific he was, but she nodded. "That will do. Yours, of course, Severus, I know -"  
  
"So long as you remember that it changes from time to time to -" Snape said quietly.  
  
"A snake, I know, I know. A raven generally, a snake under dire circumstances or when you're really pissed off. Mine is usually a large black swan. What's yours, Sirius?"  
  
Sirius just blinked at her. "Mine still changes sometimes," he said softly. "I only managed to make it corporeal in training this July."  
  
"You did?" Remus said, sounding surprised. "I didn't know that. You used to be hopeless at it."  
  
"It's a bit smaller than it ought to be," Sirius said quietly.  
  
"What is it?" Remus and Bella asked at the same time, and then looked at each other breifly.  
  
"It's a wolf," Sirius answered, not looking at any of them. "You want me to be specific?" he added when he looked up in the silence, seeing their startled expressions, his tone taking on a defensive, angry note. "It's a werewolf."  
  
"Oh," Remus said softly. Snape didn't say anything, looking unmoved as usual, and Bella gave Sirius a sort of half-teasing smile, although she looked honestly moved.  
  
Sirius looked away. "All right," Bella said, her voice quieter but still commanding. "Remus -" He could have sworn Snape flinched at the repeated use of Remus' first name. "- you set the wand down and come back over here. You're going to freeze otherwise. Trust me on this one, all right?" Remus IwasI shivering, so he joined them again under the umbrella.  
  
"Happy memory, now, and focus on charging down the wand," Bella said. Snape and Sirius both looked at her as if she were crazy, but Remus said softly, "Do it," and they all pointed their wands forward.  
  
Snape had his eyes closed, and a breif smile played across his face. Bella slipped her hand into his free one, staring at the wand as if she were seeing something else. Remus' eyes were rolled back into his head, and Sirius was focusing hard, his face tense but the corners of his mouth quirking upward.  
  
"One," Bella whispered, "two, open your eyes, boys, you have to watch it, THREE!"  
  
From the tips of their four wands burst a stag, a raven, a werewolf - and not a black swan, but something entirely different.  
  
A thestral.  
  
All four Patronuses had charged forward, but they slowed as all of their owners were startled out of their concentrations. Then, "Focus!" Bella cried, and the four animals charged forwards again, circling the wand. A dim fire seemed to circle the piece of wood for a moment, and then it turned black and roared up, a wall around Andry's wand, and images flashed inside the flames.  
  
Then they died, and the Patronusus stopped circling, heading back to their mistress and masters. The ghostly raven landed on Snape's shoulder before vanishing, Sirius reached out a hand as if to lay it on the werewolf's head, Remus bowed his head to the stag with a smile on his face. Bella, shaking, just stared at the thestral.  
  
Then the creatures were gone as if they had never been, and the wand lay in a patch of dried mud that was quickly soaked again.  
  
"Bella," Snape said finally, softly. The two of them were staring at each other, Bella shaking, Snape looking worried.  
  
"That was powerful," Remus whispered. "And the Dark smell is gone. It worked. How did you know, Bella?"  
  
But Bellatrix didn't answer, and Remus did not seem surprised at this. He glanced at Sirius, who looked with slight embarrassment back at him.  
  
"Thestral," Sirius whispered, moving closer to Remus so that Bella couldn't hear.  
  
"Could you see it? I mean - would you be able to see it, even if you hadn't - seen someone - have you?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "I could see it - and I have seen -" His voice was very strange, strangled, almost. "You?" he managed.  
  
"My mother," Remus said softly.  
  
"I'd forgot," Sirius answered. "I'm stupid, Remus. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay."  
  
Neither of them spoke for a while, and it occurred to Sirius that even if Bella and Snape hadn't seen anyone die before, they had recently - when Ted killed the man who had attacked them.  
  
But he had an odd, unsettling feeling that that was far from the first time the two Slytherins had seen anyone die. 


	13. Musings

Black Night~ Part 13~ Rated R~ Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus  
  
The fire didn't make the cold any less, and so there seemed to be little point in actually sitting near it. The rain had stopped, but a chill had settled into the air that seemed to be impenetrable. Instead of listening to Snape and Sirius argue and shoot insults at each other, Remus stood and paced for a while, staring up at the moon - was it three days from full? It looked like less, much less - and thinking hard about what little their Patronuses had actually done and meant.  
  
Sirius' was a werewolf, and this meant something to him, something deep, but it also hurt to think that what symbolized safety to his friend was the thing he feared most. Himself. The monster.  
  
His own was James, and this made more sense, he thought, than Sirius'. Prongs. Prongs had been the one who backed him unconditionally, who listened to his reason instead of charging forward. Why couldn't Sirius' be Prongs as well? But then Remus supposed that perhaps Sirius knew James too well, knew more of his flaws than Remus did. From where Remus sat, James was a prince, and Sirius his brother, and he was their advisor. A powerful position, indirectly. And Peter was - how could you explain what Peter was? He looked up to them, but he had power of his own. He was the one who always saw it for what it was. If a plan was foolish, he'd shake his head doubtfully, and poke holes in it; the necessary what-ifs. If a plan was perfect, he'd nod eagerly, grinning with the rest of them.  
  
The Marauders.  
  
But each of them was going their separate ways, really, Remus thought worridly. No matter how often they saw each other, James had Lily, and Peter his Ministry position, and Sirius his job and his adventure.  
  
And Remus? Remus had the moon.  
  
It was almost a bitterness that started to fill him. Yes, he had a job. But it wasn't anything important, not at all. He grew rare and exotic plants for the Minstry, and occasionally would pick up the odd job when he went in. His plants were put to great uses, and he would advise lower officials, sometimes, as to what to do about a situation, although that was more of a hobby than a job - they would come to him for help once in a while, these people with power and money and lives, and ask him what he thought of the situation with the Dark Lord, or of a certain attack or perhaps something about Quidditch or celebrities or Muggles, and he would answer smooth as anything, and they would nod and leave, sometimes pressing a few coins into his fist and telling him to buy himself some lunch.  
  
He never did.  
  
So he didn't really have all that much.  
  
He stopped pacing and glanced over to where Bella sat, her fingers flying over a piece of parchment, her face illuminated by a dull, flickering glow that didn't come from the fire. She was murmuring to herself, shaking her head in frustration, and her fingers flew faster across it.  
  
He moved over and sat down next to her. It was away from the fire she sat, far enough away that the sharp conversation between Snape and Sirius was an indistinct mutter in the growing wind.  
  
"Hello," she said, not looking up. "You all right?"  
  
Remus was silent a moment. Then, "No," he said calmly, "but I'm not telling IthemI that."  
  
She smiled breifly, glancing up at him. He looked down at the parchment, which was glowing an eerie sort of violet. Images were flashing through it, and he recognized them as the images that had flashed in the flames that had shot up around the wand. The wand itself was off to the side. Bella saw his glance.  
  
"I'm trying to figure out where it IisI," she said in obvious frustration, "but I can't slow the images down enough to match them to anything. The Portkey was to where they had Andry, I'm sure of it. I just - can't - match it."  
  
"Had?" Remus asked. "You think she isn't there anymore?"  
  
Bella looked up, away from the repeated flashing pictures. "The Patronus," she sighed, leaning back and conjuring a chair - he realized she was sitting on one already, and she motioned for him to sit down next to her, "is, as you know, a tool for many purposes, one of the most common being to drive off dementors or lethifolds. Other beasts can be chased away with the Patronus, although most of them do it merely from fright, not because of the spell's effect. But there are a number of uses that barely anyone knows - one of the foremost being, with enough power, to drive down Dark spells. When they are placed on a single object or person, it can nullify the magic, but in some cases, it does too much, if the power is sufficient. I know of a case where there was a witch with several Dark curses on her. No one knew what to do, so a warlock tried the Patronus. He was very strong, and when some of the other people did the same, the curses faded. But when the Patronuses vanished, it left the woman without a trace of her magic powers. She was a Muggle, a Squib. They can be terrible weapons as well as defenders."  
  
Remus was staring at her. He had never heard of anything like the story she had told - it had chased away a witch's magic? It seemed impossible, inconceivable -  
  
"But the Patronus will not let itself be conjured solely for that purpose," Bellatrix continued. "The Dark Lord, for instance, would be unable to use it properly, even to ward off dementors if he needed, I believe. He has an aura of Darkness, and it would charge down the nearest source of Darkness - not the dementors, but himself. It's an interesting spell. But when we used the Patronuses, I believe yours and mine especially had a bad effect on the Portkey charm. It doesn't work any longer, only in imagery. It wouldn't teleport you anywhere. I'm glad Sirius didn't touch the wand, though, that wall of fire would have consumed him."  
  
"I'll bet not all of us are glad I stopped him," Remus said, suddenly unable to help himself, glancing over at Snape.  
  
"Eh," Bella said vaguely, "I don't think he'd wish that death on Sirius. They're both gits, but God help me, I love them both, in their own ways, as I hate them. It's a bit of a paradox. So many flaws, but such souls. And now I'm getting vague and sentimental. I'll start spouting poetry any moment now. Please don't let on to Sirius I don't hate him entirely. It'd spoil the fun."  
  
Remus didn't answer. "He's not all that bad, really," he said at last. "Neither of them are. I hate Snape, but if things had been different, he and I might have been friends. If I'd been Sorted into Slytherin - I thought I would be, with my curse -"  
  
He trailed off, and then started again. "Sirius - he's still bigheaded, and immature, but God, he's like my brother. He - they all care about me, you know? For ImeI. The wolf is nothing to them. The wolf is just a part of me, to them, and since -" He stopped abruptly, realizing what he had been about to reveal. He changed quickly what he'd been going to say. "- since the prank, you know, we've actually gotten closer, because he and James both deflated their heads and their egos a bit enough to realize that Snape's life had been what was at stake, and that it wasn't a laughing matter. He isn't that bad now. I mean, he's more - more sensitive, and less -"  
  
From over by the fire, Sirius' voice exploded and Bella and Remus both looked over quickly. Sirius had stood and was waving his arms, gesticulating fiercely and making quite rude gestures with one finger.  
  
"- BLASPHEMOUS, REPULSIVE LITTLE PIECE OF HIPPOGRIFF --"  
  
Bellatrix was biting her lip, obviously trying to prevent herself from laughing. Remus was not trying to prevent it, he had thrown his head back, roaring with laughter, tears of mirth streaming down his face. Obviously, this insult had a slight amount of meaning to him that had missed Bella, but before long she was laughing too, and Sirius and Snape were both glaring at them.  
  
Remus let out a final amused sigh, and moved back to stare at the piece of parchment, wiping his face with a slightly muddy sleeve and succeeding in getting streaks of dirt all over his face.  
  
With a glance at him, Bella started to laugh again. He stared balefully at her until she tapped his face with her wand and muttered, "Scourgify." Remus twisted his mouth and grinned.  
  
"Scourgify," she said again, leaning over to tap his sweater and then his cloak, which was pulled haphazardly around his shoulders, "Scourgify."  
  
He rolled his eyes, and Bellatrix's mouth curved into a smile as she watched him - a true, nice smile, not just of wry amusement or forced, and Remus looked away, at the parchment. He fumbled a moment for his wand, then pulled it out and concentrated a moment. He tapped the piece of parchment. "Impedimenta."  
  
The image currently on the parchment froze, and Bella gasped, staring at it.  
  
"What is it? Do you recognize it?" Remus looked at it closer. It appeared to be a cave, looking out into a valley, and she murmered something - the pictures moved again, and "Impedimenta," she breathed. They stopped on another picture, from the same area, looking at an angle out of the cave more clearly - into a forest in a deep valley. She gasped again, shaking her head. "No," she whispered. "Impossible. . ."  
  
"What is it?" Remus demanded quietly. Bella looked up at him, aghast, and then away.  
  
"Severus!" she called, her voice almost hissing. "Severus, I've got it!"  
  
Remus glanced at the picture and saw that through only a few trees appeared to be a clearing, and there was a darkened bit in the center of the clearing. It wasn't quite visible, but he recognized it with a shock as Snape hurried over, and whispered words he had long suspected.  
  
"You're a Death Eater."  
  
Snape had heard them and he stopped, reaching obviously for his wand. Bella, looking up at Severus with a half-panicked look in her eyes, shook her head. Sirius had stood up from near the fire. He hadn't heard, but Remus thought he had sensed the tension. Bellatrix looked at Remus, straight in the eye, and nodded slowly.  
  
He made his decision. 


	14. Countdown

Black Night Part Fourteen Rated R Bellatrix/Severus, Bellatrix/Remus, Narcissa/Lucius  
  
The four of them were gathered about the parchment, Snape's mouth half-open and Bella looking at Remus every few seconds in an almost-frightened way. He had suspected - no, he had more than suspected - but it was different than having her actually admit to it.  
  
He had not told Sirius, and he would not.  
  
He wasn't sure why - possibly because he knew that it had to wait, at least until they found Andromeda. Until then, it was out of the question. If Sirius found out, he didn't know what would happen and he didn't want to.  
  
The other possibility was one that was much less welcome - and he thought it was at least part of his reasoning.  
  
It was something in her eyes when she looked at him.  
  
Snape was shooting him the occasional glance. Remus knew what the man had been planning to do - at least that it was either a Memory Charm or a Killing Curse. But Snape was confused, and probably somewhat frightened himself. This had not been part of the plan, his finding out. It had been unexpected and probably unwelcome.  
  
"Well," Snape said quietly after a while, "I know where it is. I've been there before."  
  
"What about the rest of us?" Sirius demanded. "I've certainly never been there -"  
  
"I have a Portkey," Snape continued sharply. "But if I use it. . ."  
  
His and Bella's eyes met and then they both looked breifly at Remus, who understood.  
  
"No," he agreed, and Sirius looked startled.  
  
"What the hell d'you mean, no?" he demanded. "Remus, if we can get to Andry -"  
  
"Trust me, Sirius, you don't want to know what will happen if we Portkey there." And it was true. He didn't. "If we do, we'll have maybe a minute to find Andry and get her out of there -"  
  
"Less," Snape and Bellatrix said in unison.  
  
"Why?" Sirius demanded, angrily this time. "What do the lot of you know that I don't? Why -"  
  
"Sirius, let it be said for now that we have to find another way," Bella said coolly.  
  
Sirius stared at her in consternation and silence for a moment, and had just opened his mouth to speak when the entire area was lit by a sudden red light. It faded within seconds, and before it even had fully two figures had Apparated into their midst.  
  
Lucius had his wand out and his arm was around Narcissa tightly. She was pale and looked frightened, but she wasn't holding her wand and her eyes shot instantly to Bella's, then Sirius'. They darted back and forth several times and then she looked at the ground.  
  
Lucius' eyes were far from calm. He had looked immediately at Snape, and stared at him for some time before moving on to Remus and studying him a moment. Then to Sirius and Bella, both of whom looked on the verge of drawing their wands but were eyeing Lucius' carefully.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sirius asked after a moment of silence, his voice trembling with barely-contained emotion.  
  
Lucius' mouth twisted, and he glanced at Narcissa breifly before looking back at the rest of them. "We're looking for Andromeda Tonks."  
  
Before any of the rest of them could say anything, Bella had said quietly, "You know where she is. Find a way to get us there."  
  
"What?" Narcissa turned to look at Lucius, in what appeared to be confusion, and Lucius shook his head.  
  
"I knew where she had been. I checked; there was no sign. Nothing. And it's not somewhere that you would know, or that you would suspect I know, so I suspect that you suspect she's been somewhere since. I have no idea where you think I know she is." He flushed a bit, obviously realizing a bit too late that he had abandoned his elaborate and aristocratic ways of speech.  
  
"You knew - you mean - where we went - she was there?" Narcissa whispered, still staring at him.  
  
He looked over at her, and his face filled with emotions that Remus wouldn't have thought Lucius Malfoy could possibly experience. Love and sadness and -  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just - I couldn't - I can explain to you, everything, but not here or now, because we have to find her and I -"  
  
Narcissa's face was tight, but she nodded and Lucius seemed to sag with relief. "I'm sorry," he whispered again. Narcissa looked away from him, over at Snape.  
  
"So good of you to join us all," she said. "And you, too - Lupin, isn't it? I always disliked you in school. Bella, where is it that you think she is?"  
  
"The valley," Bellatrix said quietly, "where we used to meet. Remember? It's been a while since we were there together." The last word was colder, and as she said it her eyes had shifted to Lucius. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.  
  
"Listen," Remus said, since no one else seemed to be taking any effort to say this, "if we're all looking for her, I think we need to forget that we hate each other and get on with it, all right?"  
  
Lucius nodded impatiently. Narcissa looked over at him and shrugged, Snape was gritting his teeth loudly but didn't seem to have anything to say against the matter. Sirius and Bella were both staring acidly at Lucius, although Sirius' eyes were darting to Snape once in a while. But finally Bella nodded stiffly and Sirius sighed and did the same.  
  
"All right," Remus said, silently sharing Lucius' impatience. "I think the first order of business is finding out how the hell we get where we're going, correct?"  
  
"Why can't we just Apparate?" Lucius asked.  
  
"Sirius and I have never been wherever it is, and neither of us is all that good at Apparition. We used Patronuses to charge down the Portkey - her wand - but it damaged the spell and now all we have are the images."  
  
"Just look at the images, why don't you?" Narcissa suggested. "Get to know it as well as you can from looking at it. We obviously can't Floo there, there isn't a house for miles and miles. And we can't fly there, there isn't time - and since we can't use the Portkeys -"  
  
Bella had brought the parchment over. Sirius was looking over her shoulder on one side, and all the others were crowding around. Remus was left crushed on Bellatrix's left side, peering at the images as she prodded the parchment, making them move, shift from picture to picture.  
  
After a long, long time, Sirius said at last, "I think I've got it as much as I'm going to. Remus?"  
  
He nodded. He thought he had a certain point pictured correctly. Lucius pulled Narcissa close to him, Sirius' eyes were rolled back into his head, Bella and Snape were both concentrating hard. Remus closed his eyes and -  
  
darkness swirling so dark so lonely so cold it's not right forever and ever forever after stay here don't leave darkness and then  
  
there was an explosion of color and Remus found himself lying on the ground in the dark, his eyes wide open with Sirius kneeling beside him.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Sirius was saying. "Remus? Are you all right?"  
  
"Yes," Remus said, and then he checked. Yes. He could move, and think, and stand - he did so quickly.  
  
"There was a ward," Lucius said, his face pale. Narcissa was even whiter, and she was holding onto the man tightly. "An anti-Apparition ward. I broke it down. They'll be here within twenty minutes."  
  
"Who?" Sirius asked. No one answered, so he turned back to look at Remus. "You were out for a minute or two. Had us worried."  
  
"Did you. . ." Remus breathed. "Did you feel. . ."  
  
"A darkness," Sirius whispered, nodding. "Cold as bone and alone. I thought I had died. I thought it would kill me. I don't know. It was awful."  
  
Remus nodded, partially in agreement and partially in relief. It hadn't been only him. No matter how alone he had felt, he hadn't been, and that was a comfort. He never wanted to be alone again.  
  
"What would it have done to us?" he asked Lucius.  
  
"We might have survived it," was the almost-casual reply, but then Lucius' voice grew darker, "and so I almost just let it go - better to be injured and undetected, in this case - but I kept my senses, and checked over all of you. We might have survived it, but you wouldn't have. And so I broke it down. Enough?"  
  
Sirius was staring at Malfoy in almost disbelief. Remus himself was feeling a wash of cold and strangeness over his body. Lucius Malfoy had - had saved his life? Risked detection and perhaps death - to make sure Remus didn't die?  
  
"Thank you," Remus whispered, but Lucius didn't seem to hear - with a glance at Narcissa to see that she was all right, he turned away from them all, muttering to himself and moving towards the trees.  
  
"I'm not sure if she's here," he said slowly, clearly to himself.  
  
Bella had moved over towards Remus; she was standing next to him and watching Lucius' progress towards the trees. Then finally, she asked a bit anxiously, "Are you all right?"  
  
He looked over at her, partly in surprise and partly because her voice was strange and he wanted to see her face, to see why. And she was staring at him with fear and worry evident on her face.  
  
"Yes," he said, as if he was elsewhere but trying to get a message to her with difficulty. "Yes, Bella. I'm all right." 


	15. Cry

Black Night Part Fifteen Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus, Bellatrix/Remus  
  
Remus moved through the trees with Sirius silent beside him.  
  
"It's so quiet," Sirius whispered. "Why? She isn't here, Remus. It's too quiet."  
  
Both of them knew Remus' unspoken question. What if she's dead, Sirius?  
  
"But she isn't!" Sirius burst out more loudly. "She isn't, and don't even think she might be, because I'd know! I would know, Remus, I'm sure of it, she was - she was and is my everything, all I have to live for in my family, and I - I would know if Andry was - was -"  
  
There were tears in his voice, and he clearly was not going to continue.  
  
"Yes," Remus said quietly. And then a lie. "I believe you."  
  
Would that hurt more than anything else? Because something in the pit of Remus' stomach was telling him that Andromeda was dead, and he was weeping silently for it. He had never known her as Sirius had, but he had met her. After their fourth year, Sirius and Andry had come over to his house together, after the full moon, and Andromeda had spoken to him knowing what he was and not caring. She had come many times, once even without Sirius, and in the past few years he'd come to know her as his own cousin, his own protector and comforter, as Sirius had known her but more distantly.  
  
And now, he knew, she was probably dead.  
  
A yell through the trees - Lucius' voice - "This way! All of you! We haven't much time, hurry! This way!" And Remus' heart banged against his ribcage angrily, is she alive or dead, tell us, now, prepare us -  
  
But instead of Lucius' voice, the thing that prepared them to see what they were about to see as they raced through the trees was a quiet sobbing, and it was Narcissa's voice saying why why why.  
  
Bella and Severus were just behind them and Bella caught up with Remus in a single burst of speed. Sirius was just ahead and Snape just behind and the two of them were between, running through the trees and stopping right beside Sirius, who was already on the ground next to her body with his face buried in her robes, and Narcissa, whose face was in Lucius' shoulder, as his was in her hair and he stroked it gently, murmering I'm sorry I'm sorry against her sobs of why. Severus was behind them and he simply stopped, and Remus was on his knees behind Sirius and next to Bella, looking at Andromeda's face, which seemed to be made of stone. Her eyes were closed and her mouth only partially open, and her dark hair glimmered in the moonlight. Pale skin, very pale, and there was blood on her fingers, her own from a gash in her hand, but the blood was dried and her skin was cold. Remus had touched it, touched her dead hand, and she was far away by now.  
  
And then Bella was crying, sobbing, and Sirius' head was thrown back and he was howling a dog a wolf a man whose heart is being torn from him, and Lucius was pale and shaking and perhaps crying himself, and Remus was a stone, with Bella's face in his shoulder and Snape's eyes angry on his back, and his arms tight and careful around her, comforting her as she cried and he stared at Andry.  
  
And Sirius' fingers were moving across her face, the face of this dead young woman, the face that was so unlike her because it was without laughter or emotion, except for a radiating deep sadness, a regret, that would never fade.  
  
And she was dead.  
  
Snape's voice, suddenly frightened, "They're coming." And Lucius' voice halting abruptly, and Narcissa taking a great shuddering breath, and Bella stiffening, and Sirius unmoving by her body.  
  
Remus stood slowly, feeling a numb fury and turning to Snape. In a voice of silent steel, "You said it wasn't Him."  
  
"It wasn't," Snape's reply, but wavering, uncertain. "It wasn't."  
  
Lucius echoing it. "It wasn't, Lupin. It wasn't."  
  
And uncontrollable anger. "Then why the hell is she IhereI?"  
  
Sirius' sobs echoing in his ears. Bella's Patronus burned against his eyes. His own fury and greif pounding in his heart, threatening to break down the dam he placed against it time after time.  
  
Lucius helpless, and yes, those were tearstains on his cheeks, his own as well as Narcissa's, perhaps. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be dead -"  
  
But Sirius' gaze had risen, tears pouring down his cheeks, and at Lucius words he screamed, roared, "SHE'S NOT! SHE ISN'T DEAD - ANDRY - I'D KNOW, I NEVER FELT IT, I NEVER KNEW, ANDRY, I'M SORRY -"  
  
"She's dead," Narcissa's voice this time, faint and shaking and wracked with pain.  
  
"NO!" Sirius screamed.  
  
"No," Narcissa echoed, softly, and Bella had moved across next to Sirius, next to her sister.  
  
"She can't be dead," Bella had whispered, and Sirius turned and seized her shoulders, shaking her, SHE ISN'T! SHE ISN'T DEAD, REMUS, TELL THEM, TELL THEM SHE ISN'T DEAD -  
  
"Oh God," Remus heard himself whisper, "Nymphadora. . ."  
  
"NO!" Sirius screamed, still clinging to the front of Bella's robes, but he had stopped shaking her and they were both sobbing, Sirius' voice now quiet she's not dead she's not supposed to be dead she can't be Andry I'm sorry I don't want her to be dead please let me wake up she can't die she's dead oh God Andry -  
  
And Remus felt something break inside his chest, some invisible hand finally break past the dam and squeeze his heart, hard, and he felt a sob rise in his throat.  
  
Just one.  
  
And then the real dam broke.  
  
"They're coming," Snape whispered again. "He's coming. We have to get out."  
  
"The Dark Lord?" Remus whispered. "Voldemort?"  
  
"HE KILLED HER!" Sirius screamed, standing up suddenly and fumbling for his wand. "I'LL KILL HIM!"  
  
"Don't be a fool, Black!" Snape snapped. "We've got to get out of here, now!"  
  
"Where should we take her body?" Remus asked dully.  
  
"No," Sirius moaned, his search for his wand abandoned.  
  
"Anywhere," Snape said, his voice near to frantic. Lucius stood still and pale, and Sirius, still ignoring Snape's attempts to get everyone moving, turned to the other man.  
  
"You knew," he said softly. Lucius didn't move, and Narcissa was looking at him now. "You knew she was dead. You knew, you bastard. And you didn't tell her, did you?" He gestured to Narcissa, who looked over at him instead and then back at Lucius. "You didn't tell us. You knew."  
  
Lucius nodded, slowly, so slowly, and Narcissa let out a wail, and he looked down at her and reached out a hand to touch her face but she pulled away. "No!" she cried. "It's not true! He didn't know, you didn't know, you can't have -"  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered.  
  
"You said you loved me!" she cried out.  
  
"It was the truth," he answered simply.  
  
"I hate you!" she screamed, and he flinched.  
  
"I deserve it," he answered.  
  
"He saved Remus," Bella said quietly. All eyes went to her. She was the only one still next to Andry's body, the only one still kneeling there by her sister. "He saved Remus' life. I'm not going to forget that easily." Snape made an indistinct sound and she looked at him with a sneer. "You, Severus - look at you, standing there coldly. My sister is dead and you don't ever care. IYouI said you loved ImeI, but he does love her." She jerked her head roughly at Lucius and Narcissa. "And maybe he isn't the filth I thought he was. I'm sorry," she added, to Lucius, who nodded once. "I misjudged you. And you," she added to Remus, who was staring at her. "I took you for a fool, and you aren't. And you," she said to Sirius, and then to Narcissa, "and you, too, and I'm sorry. And I'm also sorry that I misjudged you." The last was to Snape, who was standing stiffly and staring at her. "Because if I'd realized what you were I could have saved us all some pain."  
  
She shot Sirius a glance - he was looking at her dimly, but there was something in his eyes that told Remus that this was getting through to him, and suddenly he knew what she was going to do and felt a wave of sadness.  
  
Sure enough, she pulled up the sleeve of her robe and revealed the black Dark Mark.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said as Sirius' eyes widened. "But Snape is right." Snape flinched at the use of his name - his last name. "He is coming."  
  
"You," Sirius whispered. "You - and Narcissa, too, and - they told me and I didn't want to believe, I didn't believe it, I thought you were better than that - I thought -"  
  
"You were wrong," Bella said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."  
  
"We all are," Sirius answered. "How could you do this? To me?" His eyes moved painfully to Andry, and then back to Bellatrix, and the next words were shaken and wracked with so much pain that it seemed he might not live with it. They were soft, and breakable words. "To her?"  
  
Bella looked away, at Narcissa, at Lucius, at Snape, at Remus. Her eyes lingered on him longest, and then fell to the ground. "Can you Disapparate with Andry?" she asked Sirius.  
  
Sirius made a small noise. "Yes," he said in a strangled voice.  
  
"To the Ministry," she said softly, "and we can figure this all out."  
  
With six soft pops, they were gone. 


	16. Comings

Black Night Part Sixteen Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus, Bellatrix/Remus  
  
The Ministry was dark, but Lucius seemed to know exactly where he was going. The rest of them followed, like ragtag children following a teenager, trembling still and uncertain. Sirius conjured a stretcher and lay Andry on it, tears starting to flow down his cheeks again. It followed him closely, and he turned back every few seconds to check on it, laying a hand occasionally on it as if to see if it was still solid, still real.  
  
Snape seemed to be there only quite reluctantly. He dragged on behind the rest, his eyes on Remus, who had a hand on Bella's shoulder and was whispering in her ear as she cried.  
  
Sirius was also watching the two of them now, his blue eyes dark and still full of tears. Once or twice he seemed to be on the verge of making some comment, doubtless a scathing or angry one, but greif seemed to consume his fury and he never spoke.  
  
It was Narcissa who first broke the silence, asking Lucius where they were going, but before she could finish the question Lucius put a finger across her lips to silence her, and her eyes filled with tears. He drew his hand away, his silver eyes wide in the moonlight that filtered through the enchanted windows.  
  
Everything was silent and empty, and their footsteps seemed to echo unnaturally loudly. Narcissa repeated her question, and this time Lucius let her finish, and just stared at her through the darkness until she shivered and broke her gaze away. Seemingly satisfied, he turned again and continued on, down through dark passageways.  
  
They stopped before a closed door on which faded letters read DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES.  
  
Snape took in a sharp breath - "Surely you don't plan on us going in there!" - but Lucius didn't acknowledge his protest, merely reached for his wand and silently tapped the doorknob.  
  
It swung open, and he moved along the row, turning after five or six steps and motioning for them to follow.  
  
Sirius and Narcissa moved in together with the stretcher between them, and then Remus and Bella, and after several seconds, Snape. He shut the door behind them with a bang, and Lucius jumped.  
  
The lights went on.  
  
A man appeared immediately in front of them, but there had been no pop of Apparition. His eyes fell on Andry and he drew in a sharp breath, and let it shuddering out. "Oh, no. . ." he whispered. There was a long silence, and then he looked up at Lucius. "Follow me," he said, and they did, along several cubicles and then into one of them, tight-fitting. Sirius let the stretcher hover at the enterance of the cubicle and moved in, staring around with his mouth half-open.  
  
Pictures of Ted and Nymphadora, of Bella and Narcissa and their parents, some of Sirius, some of Regulus and his parents, were hung all over the cubicle, and then some of other, peculiar things. The pictures were all staring sadly at the newcomers, except Ted, who merely blinked and stared worridly, and Nymphadora, who did nothing.  
  
"This is Andry's cubicle," the man said unnecessarily, and a bit helplessly.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked softly. "She works for the Deparment for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."  
  
"No," the man answered quietly. "She's a high-ranking official here, and since they killed our supervisor Josephina Midgen, we've been keeping it secret. Andry's been working here for almost four years. Even her husband doesn't know. My name is Spirit Finnegan, but everyone calls me Spikey. I'm. . ." He took a deep breath. "I - was - Andry's field partner. We were afraid that she had -" Another breath. "I'm so sorry. You must be Sirius," he added, looking directly at him. "Andry told me so much about you. Are you all - related to her?"  
  
Sirius didn't answer, but Bella said quietly, "Narcissa and I are her sisters. Lucius and Severus and Remus are - are family friends, I guess you'd say."  
  
"Yes," Spikey said vaguely, glancing over at Andry's body. "Would you - like to - see her private casefiles? They'll tell you everything you need to know about what she's been doing - and what happened before she -" Tears welled up in his eyes, and he shook his head. "I'm so sorry. Andry and I - were investigating a criminal organization, the Khastis. The Khasti Revolution, they call themselves. They've discovered a way to prolong life - some new way - and we think they're planning to join You- Know-Who." He looked nervous. "Voldemort. Andry volunteered to try to infiltrate them. Rookwood - our new supervisor - protested, said it was too dangerous, but she was determined. He agreed very reluctantly, and I being her field partner I of course offered to do the same. Andry refused to let me, said it would make it more suspicious. Rookwood agreed.  
  
"This was about eight months ago." There was a pause, and this sunk in. Sirius was staring at Spikey in disbelief. "But Andry - I don't know if you can understand what it was like. She got in, but she was always independent-like. She kept doing things she wasn't supposed to - she rose in the Khasti, got more respect among them. She was a - a strategic leader, and she was always planning things to find out more information, and secretly making sure people didn't get killed. I don't even know what- all she did without permission. She would meet members outside of work to talk to them, pump information out of them. But then I guess they got suspicious. Their respect for her fell, and they told her to prove her loyalty - to take a prisoner for them, someone important. There were two people they wanted that she had access to. She thought that they would probably give them to Him - Voldemort. When she refused, I guess they took her. We searched and searched, but - I guess we were too late."  
  
"Who did they want?" Lucius asked swiftly.  
  
"From what I can determine, although I'm not sure," Spikey said, "her daughter Nymphadora, for her Metamorphmagus possibilities - they could brainwash her, you know - or - or -"  
  
He was trembling head to foot now, looking more helpless than ever. They all stared at him a moment, and then, in a soft, wavering voice, Sirius said, "Me."  
  
Spikey nodded, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, "and I might be wrong, it might not be at all, but everyone's saying how good you could be -"  
  
"They are?" Sirius looked genuinely surprised, but his voice was uncaring. "They're always telling me I'm not worth shit."  
  
"Mad-Eye himself came down here a few days ago to talk to Rookwood, said you could be the best but he wanted them to keep an eye on you in case you turned out to be a spy. Paranoid old bat." Spikey was clearly trying to smile with the memory but his eyes were still full of tears. "Andry started to yell at him."  
  
He glanced at her body again. "Where -" he tried to say, but his voice broke, and Sirius looked back at him.  
  
"Don't know," he answered to Spikey's unfinished question. Spikey nodded, wiping his face on a sleeve, and pointed at a neatly filed group of what looked like inch-thick black ashtrays. On further examination, however, a small button and a dip behind it could be seen.  
  
"Press the button," the man said. Lucius reached forward and did so.  
  
Nothing happened. But Spikey had moved forwards.  
  
"Display casefiles beginning March sixteenth of the year nineteen seventy- seven," Spikey said clearly to the apparatus. "Authorization Spirit Nine- Two-Six."  
  
"Second authorization required," a female voice said cooly.  
  
"Override Alpha Four-Ten. Second authorization no longer required. End override."  
  
"Second authorization no longer required," the voice said. "Begin casefiles?"  
  
Spikey turned to them all. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "She had to file at least once a month, although once every two weeks was preferred. The first one you see ought to be the first after she'd joined the Khastis. When you're finished, I'll be back." He turned to the small device. Lifting it out of the file, he set it on the floor in front of them. "Yes," he said to it loudly, and then he vanished.  
  
Sirius and Narcissa both gasped. From out of the small dip in the contraption had risen Andromeda, life-sized and wearing black robes. Her face was pale and she kept glancing over her shoulder. "March sixteenth," Andry said quietly. Sirius moaned softly, staring at the projection. It looked real. Very real.  
  
"I've successfully infiltrated the Khasti Revolution. I have learned very little so far, but we were certainly right about their aims. They appear to be trying some sort of life-prolonging steps, or perhaps I should say death-preventing. I don't know anything about what they are, and I expect what with having to lie about where I work," her mouth twisted, "that I won't be able to do much extra detective work yet. Spikey's worried stiff about me doing this, but I think I'm fine. If I'm careful, they'll never catch me, although he keeps reminding me that one slip could be my life.  
  
"It's hard to think about my new situation at home, as well. I hate lying to Ted, and Sirius and the rest, and working out problems at home makes it feel worse. Sirius always asks what I'm thinking - it's hard to lie to him especially. I've known him so long, and I know I can trust him, but Rookwood said I couldn't tell anyone." Sirius had buried his face in his hands. "The initiation was nothing like what we know of Death Eater initiations - they have no symbol to burn into my skin or the like, since I believe they're planning to eventually join Voldemort. Perhaps I'm wrong.  
  
"I met them at night - told Ted I was working with a mooncalf. I can understand how much less intimidating it would have been in broad daylight, but I'm reluctant to leave Ted to put Nymphadora to bed. She's always so figity. We met inside the curve of a large river, I don't know where it was. I'd been given a Portkey for it - the standard marble kind. They must have a spy within the Ministry high-up enough to authorize all they need. Or perhaps they just obtained a lot of them. There were maybe thirty people, and I only heard the two leaders' names used. Both men, about the same age, and brothers. Perhaps even twins, but not identical. Foreign, but I've always been dreadful at placing accents. Or perhaps theirs were faked. In any case, the names they gave were Vladimir and Igor Karkaroff. What a mouthful. I gave my false name, Joline Tandrie. I told them I worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, of course - next thing I know, I'll have to be trying to get them something from that line of work. The DRCMC has been very secretive about this, especially the young woman who's supposed to be my field partner. She just joined the department, her name is Lily Evans, but I don't know her that well. Anyway, they redirect any memos and cover for me.  
  
"They took my name, my occupation, and any other information they thought necessary - the fact that I was a Gryffindor was a bit of a problem for them. I didn't think I'd better say I was anything else - they scorn Hufflepuff almost as much or more and it doesn't fit my personality as well, I don't want to have to pretend about too much. And I would never be a convincing Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. I've seen enough of Slytherin behavior - Bella and Narcissa have seen to that, God help them - and I think I'd die pretending. I'd have to try to damn hard.  
  
"I'm going to try to make connections with a few of them. It actually didn't seem as - well, IevilI as I thought it would. They were talking and planning, but not for Muggle-killings or anything. I did hear someone mention kidnapping, though, and I swear I almost had a heart attack. I couldn't help imagining Nymphadora -" Her voice wavered, and she glanced over her shoulder and jumped. "I've got to go!" she hissed, and the image flickered and changed. 


	17. Goings

Black Night Part Seventeen Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Remus  
  
Three hours and eleven filed entries had passed. Five chairs were drawn up around the image of Andry now. Sirius sat on the floor closest, his knees curled up to his chest. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her.  
  
"June thirtieth, nineteen seventy-seven. I am getting more and more frightened by the strange inner workings of the Khasti's circle. Ever since my strange promotion, ever since I began working their strategies, I have been worried that I will be found out and I know that if that happens, they will kill me.  
  
"Strike after secret strike failed before they took out the previous strategist. I don't know what had happened to him, but he had gone almost two years before Igor and Vladimir tired of his failures. Perhaps I can do better - I know that my plans can be, but how do I make sure that they fail without failing myself?  
  
"The only thing I can imagine I could possibly do is use the Imperius Curse on one of the key strike members, to make sure that they screw up." Sirius drew in a sharp breath. Andry's holographic eyes filled with tears and her voice rose. "But I am afraid that they will kill whoever I do this to! If one of the members causes one brilliant failed plan after another, I know Igor will not stand for it. And he has been making advances on me again. . .that man frightens me beyond anything else in the circle. Even his brother is not so bad as he. And I am afraid of breaking the law so much. . .already I'm doing a great deal that I should not without Mr. Rookwood's permission. For instance, I met Vladimir today in the pub downtown. He doesn't seem to understand about secrecy, he almost hexed one of the Muggles and I'm sure that Damein suspects something. . .oh, I IhateI not telling Ted, I hate this secrecy, I hate it all. But I can't turn back now. The Khastis are for life, and so I must continue until I am able to make my move and turn them all in." She sighed. "Unfortunately, I believe at the rate I am going it will be a good five more years before this is possible. Spikey is getting more and more anxious. I'm glad I have someone to talk to. He's very understanding about everything. I tell him about Nymphadora's progress - she had her first literate sentence today! It's quite surprising it took her this long. Most children - well, in any case, she asked Ted for her milk this morning, just as I was leaving. Papa, I want milk! And then she waved at me and said Buh-bye, Mama! I'm so afraid of something happening to her, something. . .There isn't much time. We're planning another strike tonight and I have to make it fail, or three children are going to die. . .it's our attack on the Weasley family today, and I have to sink it. I know all of their names, and I've seen them sometimes. . .Molly was a prefect when I was in my first year, and Arthur was the top of his class in Muggle Studies, although he was always terrible at getting the names right, it's always fellytone and eckeltricity. Molly's eight months pregnant with twins, and she has three sons, Percy, Charlie, and Bill. . .they're a family very close to Dumbledore. Perhaps I can go to the Headmaster for help! I have to go, quickly." Her image flickered and there was a temporary silence while it switched to the next file.  
  
"I know the Weasleys," Remus said quietly. "Not very well, but. . ." And Lucius was nodding, although looking very distasteful.  
  
"I remember the attack on their house," Sirius said in a choked voice. "Someone tipped us off. Someone from the Department of Mysteries. They didn't say who, but they sent a memo. It must have been Andry. I - it was one of my first training missions. And one of the attackers - we thought they were Death Eaters - he had terrible aim, and he hit one of the others with a Stunner. . .but we never caught any of them."  
  
The image of Andry flickered back. "July twenty-fourth, nineteen seventy- seven. Our strikes are growing more frequent. . ."  
  
And fifteen minutes later, "August twentieth, nineteen seventy-seven. I'm so frightened that I'm going to be caught. I can't tip off the Aurors every time, and I don't always want to. . .it's so hard, if I know the attack is going to be vicious and I know that Sirius is there, or someone else. . ."  
  
Another twenty minutes or so, and something extremely startling came up in the September fifteenth file. "We have a new initiate to the Department. I don't think I'm going to get to know him very well - he's working with the prophecies with Merilili, the poor boy, but I heard his name and just about jumped out of my seat. It's that boy who's Sirius' best friend, James Potter -"  
  
At these words, Sirius leapt to his feet, eyes wide and shaking all over. Remus too was looking shocked, he had half-risen from his chair and slowly stood the rest of the way, laying a hand on Sirius' shoulder.  
  
October's file flew by with mounting worry and some tears, and then they came to the last file, from early November. It was dated from a week before.  
  
"I think I've been found out. They know my loyalties are divided. I have to get out, I have to go to someone for help. I'm afraid for my family. They know my name, my true name!" Andry was pale and shaking all over. "And I'm meeting Vladimir in the pub again, sometime soon, he said he'd owl me for my terms. They asked me about Nymphadora. They know she's a Metamorphmagi. . .damn this! Damn it all, I don't care anymore, they're talking about my IdaughterI, and Sirius too, everyone knows how good he can be. . .I don't care about secrecy, I don't care about what's logical or even legal. I'm doing what I have to to save my family, to save two of the people I love most. . .I can't do this anymore. I'm speaking to Dumbledore this afternoon -"  
  
"Dumbledore was out that afternoon," Sirius whispered. "He was at the Auror Department, talking to Mad-Eye. . ."  
  
"- if I can get in touch with him. This isn't going to work. The operation is a failure, and I think I might. . ." Her voice was tearful. "I'm only sorry that I might not be able to say goodbye to everyone. . .maybe Spikey can tell Ted and Sirius and everyone. I don't know. I don't know at all." A pause. "This information is all that is crucial if anyone watches this. The Khasti Revolution means to join Voldemort. They are to give him offerings of people in power, people who can be brainwashed or used - like my daughter. Like Sirius. They also plan to try to brainwash Bartemius Crouch's son. And they know, somehow, that Voldemort has spies, spies everywhere, and that he is searching for more. . .a way to get to the important families, the ones who support Dumbledore and his secret orgainization. The spies must be found and the targets kept secure and in hiding. If anyone ever sees this, ever, tell my family I'm sorry. I think this will be my last entry."  
  
The image flickered then, and died. Sirius let out a muffled sob. There was a long, long silence.  
  
Then, "James," Remus whispered. "Oh, God, Sirius, did he know? Did he know and not tell us?"  
  
"She was right," Lucius said quietly. He hadn't spoken or moved for some time. Sirius turned to look at the man, a fire blazing in his eyes that Remus had never seen before.  
  
"I think it's time for your explanation, Malfoy," Sirius whispered venemously.  
  
"I was. . .at a meeting place. Two men, brothers by the names of Igor and Vladimir Karkaroff, Apparated in front of me, holding a woman. . ." He trailed off for a moment, his eyes haunted. "Holding Andromeda. She was. . .still alive. Barely. Unconcious, bleeding, but breathing. They had tortured her for information. After she met Vladimir at a pub - The King's Best Radishes - she had tried to attack him. He overpowered her and took her to his older brother, Igor, and they tortured her for information on her daughter. And you." He met Sirius' eyes, but Sirius shuddered and looked away. "They were bringing her as an offering, hoping to find someone at the meeting place where I was who could help them. When. . .I found out who she was. . .and who they were, I. . ." He was faltering, looking around at all of them, his eyes darting, nervous. "I told them to hand her over to me, and I would deal with it. I. . .I knew who she was, and. . .but they refused, and I attacked them. One of them punched me, in the face, and I fell. . .they had dropped her, and I think Igor shot an Avada Kedavra at me, but. . ." He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "It missed," he said quietly, helplessly.  
  
He didn't explain. He didn't have to.  
  
"And then I Apparated immediately to Narcissa and Bellatrix's flat," he said quietly. "I was going to tell them. I was." He opened his eyes again and looked at Narcissa. She was crying - they all were, except for Snape, who was staring silent and stony-faced. "But I couldn't. I knew that it was too late anyway, and that you would find her. I'm sorry. I swear, I never meant for it. . .I'm sorry." And Narcissa was nodding, crying, but still nodding in understanding, and even Sirius didn't look angry. Narcissa wrapped her arms around him, and he looked up at Bella, as if asking for permission for something.  
  
And Bella nodded.  
  
Lucius hugged Narcissa back, hard, and Bella was crying harder now and she buried her face in Remus' arm. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looking doubtful - Sirius was looking at the two of them with a strange, closed expression, even with tears running down his cheeks.  
  
Snape Disapparated, and after a while Lucius and Narcissa followed suit, and Bella did the same a silent moment later, glancing at Andry's body and then at Remus.  
  
Leaving the two of them to stare at each other.  
  
"I can't believe James would do this without telling us," Sirius whispered, looking anywhere but at Andry. "I just can't. There must be a mistake -"  
  
"No," Remus said slowly. "I think he tried to tell us once. But he couldn't, and so he left it at that. He wasn't supposed to - we aren't supposed to know any of this kind of thing."  
  
At these words, as if summoned, Spikey appeared at the doorway, without a pop, as if he had been there all along.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "but you had better go. I think, technically, you aren't supposed to be here, and. . .it would just make things harder."  
  
And Remus and Sirius nodded.  
  
"If you want. . ." Spikey took a deep breath. "I could take her body to her husband. I have to explain everything to him in any case. And I. . ."  
  
Sirius nodded again. "Would you do that?" he asked. "I - I don't think I - Ted is - is at number twelve, Grimmauld Place - but I'll have to give you the passwords, first -"  
  
"That won't be necessary," Spikey said with a small smile. "I know things and do things. I - I'll be in touch."  
  
"Thank you," Sirius whispered. Spikey nodded, and soon he and Andry's body were gone.  
  
Sirius turned to Remus, and they both nodded once, decisively, as if carrying out a pre-made plan.  
  
They Apparated, and to Sirius, the predawn shadows that covered the grounds of the Potter Hall seemed darker than they ought to have been. 


	18. Endings

Black Night Part Eighteen Rated R Narcissa/Lucius, Remus/Bellatrix  
  
Lucius wandered throughout the house from room to room. The late afternoon light slanted through fine windows, falling on the furniture - polished wood, leather, velvet, or the like - at an angle that made it all shine.  
  
He didn't know how long he had been doing this - since not long after they had Apparated to the Mansion, when Narcissa had apparently vanished. She was nowhere to be found - he'd been searching for IhoursI, unwilling to ask the house-elves for help, unwilling to admit that he couldn't find something so precious inside his own house.  
  
Perhaps she wasn't here, he thought, not for the first time. He considered vaguely that it was odd that this concept would surprise him. After all, her sister had just died and she had discovered that IheI had been a part of it, no matter how unintentionally.  
  
Again, he thought furiously how frustrating it was to feel so weak, so helpless. He had hours ago realized that no matter what he did, there might be no way to stop him from losing her. He had found her, or she had found him, and he had loved her. Loved her more than his blood, than his wealth, than his pride or even his ambition. He would have and still would give it all up for her, if she asked it of him. He would burn the house, spill all of his own blood, if she asked it. He would live like a Muggle, if it would mean her life.  
  
It infuriated him that he had such emotion. He should not let himself IfeelI like this. Such love made him only weaker, and would hurt him more in the future.  
  
But he knew that she would never ask such things of him, and that he would never have to be true to those promises of undying devotion.  
  
In an instant, he gave up his search and moved quickly upstairs, to the small altar the family had there. His great-grandfather, Itanius Malfoy, had been a man of faith in God, no matter how rare these things were with magic, especially in those of such pure heritage. But the altar had stayed, because Lucius was unwilling to destroy something that had obviously been so key to his ancestor's life.  
  
He had only entered the room once, when he was nineteen and his parents had both died. He had entered it when he had inherited the house, to decide whether it stayed or went.  
  
The house-elves cleaned, in that room, kept the altar beautiful, and the stained glass clean, and everything looking as if it was new. They knew, even the youngest, that were one of them to break something while cleaning in that room, especially that room, that it would mean death.  
  
Lucius didn't know why he had such strong feelings that the room should stay as it was.  
  
He paused outside the oak door, staring at its bronze handle, which was polished beautifully, and turned around. Across from the door was a mirror, and he gazed into it, at his not-so-neat silvery-blond hair, his cold grey eyes, and the expression of utmost unhappiness on his face. His eyes were the only part that didn't scream emotion, and he tried to make them say something, make them warmer, melt the ice and see something other than emptiness.  
  
But he couldn't.  
  
And so he turned and opened the door into the altar-room, the small temple, to find Narcissa asleep on the floor, her face pressed against the red carpet.  
  
He froze for a moment, thinking almost-frantically how much she looked like an angel in the surroundings. Her hair was pale-gold and so perfectly neat that it looked unmovable, frozen in place. Her eyes were closed and her face was. . .not peaceful, not happy, but calm, at rest. She was wearing a silk gown the color of pale cream, not what she had been before, and somewhere - somewhere, she seemed to have found a gold necklace in the shape of a cross, and it was bound about her neck.  
  
He shut the door quietly behind him, not taking his eyes off of her, and moved silently, crouching on the floor beside her, brushing her cheek with one finger and wanting to whisper something, something he could admit without anyone hearing, some secret thing, but unable to break the silence.  
  
He was so close to her in the silence that he could hear her heart beating.  
  
And so finally, he looked up at the cross and whispered, "Let me love her as she deserves to be loved."  
  
In the perfectly polished gold of the cross, he could see his reflection. His eyes were filled with tears.  
  
***  
  
Remus was woken near noon by the doorbell.  
  
Cursing, he pulled a sweater over his head and a pair of dirty jeans that he usually used for the garden on, glanced in the mirror - "Your hair, boy, your hair is terrible!" it half-shreiked - and moved to the door, blinking off sleep.  
  
He opened it blearily and tried to focus in on the person who was standing on the doorstep as if he belonged there.  
  
"James?" he said blankly. Memory rushed back in quick bursts, images flashing before his eyes - Bella - Sirius - Andry - and words echoing in his ears - that boy who's Sirius' best friend, James Potter -  
  
Suddenly he had an urge to close the door.  
  
James didn't say anything, just stood there for a moment, suddenly looking very out-of-place. Remus wondered whether he knew. Perhaps Lily had told him that they had stopped by the night before - perhaps Spikey -  
  
"Spikey told me as soon as I came in this morning," James said finally. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Remus felt the air go out of his lungs. He didn't have to explain, or accuse - and this was IJamesI, James who had cared about something other than the wolf, who had confronted him, twelve-year-old to twelve-year- old, staring him down and telling him We know, Remus, and behind the hurt and anger and betrayal had been a terrible understanding.  
  
"Come in," he said finally, motioning to James, who looked surprised.  
  
"But -" And Remus recognized the emotion's on James' face, because he had felt them himself, five years ago in a darkened dormitory with three boys clustered around him.  
  
"Come in, James," he said again, and very hesitantly, James did. "Have you talked to Sirius yet?"  
  
James flinched noticably. "He must hate me," he murmured, shaking his head. "No. No. I can't, Remus, I - I don't even know where he is. I talked to Lily first - she knows, Remus, and she's always known, and I didn't even know that she did. I've been lying to her about work for months, and she always knew. And she said you would understand, and I didn't know what she meant. I'm - not sure if I do even now." He looked up, his hazel eyes pained and boring that pain straight down Remus' eyes and to his heart. "Why don't you hate me?" he whispered.  
  
Remus, feeling slightly surprised, and thinking that James ought to know, said quietly, "Because I know what it's like to keep a secret."  
  
James' mouth opened, his eyes were wide. "IOhI," he said softly, his face suddenly almost childishly open. "Oh, God." There was a long moment of silence, but then James said slowly, "But Remus - Ihow did Lily knowI? She - doesn't know about you - about you being a werewolf or anything - I never told her, I swear -"  
  
"Lily's sharp," Remus answered him simply, quietly.  
  
"It was so damn hard to pretend I was doing Auror training when I wasn't," James said quietly. "I knew he'd figure it out eventually, that you all would. But I couldn't - I wasn't allowed to - to tell anyone. So I just kept telling Sirius that my times were different, and getting information as to what they were all doing so that I could convincingly answer his questions about how mine was going, and - told him I was never allowed on the attacks like he is - I know I wouldn't be, if I were an Auror. He's amazing at it, you ought to hear Mad-Eye. Andry and I -" And then his face suddenly closed, and he fell silent, looking at his hands.  
  
"She was going to mentor me, when I was fully trained in," he whispered after another moment, hunched over in his chair, rocking back and forth slightly and still staring at his hands. "When I was done training in Section One with the - with Merilili -" His voice faltered, and his face was flushed. "I still can't tell anything about what I do. It's rubbish. I'm sorry."  
  
"James," Remus said quietly. James looked up. "It's fine, all right? It's fine."  
  
James managed a weak smile.  
  
"Do you want me to talk to Sirius first?"  
  
James' smile became more pronounced, and relieved.  
  
"Would you?" he asked, and then his face fell. He stood, and Remus followed suit, facing each other. "No. I'd better do it myself. I - whatever he says he has a right to. I deserve it."  
  
"Then do you want me to come?"  
  
James closed his eyes tight and hugged Remus breifly, pulling back embarrassed - they were still seventeen, after all, and not supposed to do that sort of thing. But Remus smiled and James nodded.  
  
"Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, I do."  
  
"I think I know where he'll be," Remus said, and whispered something in James' ear.  
  
They Disapparated.  
  
***  
  
Sirius was dreaming.  
  
The world was dark and made of nothing. Of blackness. He was alone, walking on nothing, looking at nothing.  
  
But there were footsteps from up ahead.  
  
He started to run, trying to get closer to the footsteps, trying to see who was running and why.  
  
And he had seen, from out of the dark, a girl of his own age, perhaps a bit younger, come out of the nothingness. Black hair that shone in nonexistant light, a pale face split by a careless grin. She was running towards him with a bounce in her step. Andry. Andry. Andry. Her name echoed inside his head. But she was dead.  
  
Only this wasn't Andry now, Andry as she was dead, Andry as he had seen her face for the last time at the funeral. This was Andry ten years ago, only Sirius was still seventeen instead of seven.  
  
"Sirius!" she said happily, laughing, "I've been looking all over for you!" and she hugged him. She was smaller than him, but did so as if it were natural. Her chin hooked under his, and to hug him she had to wrap her arms around his shoulders. He brought his own up hesitantly, still not comprehending whatever was happening. Then he was squeezing her, holding her tightly, because he wouldn't let her go, wouldn't let her grow up and die and leave him behind.  
  
She turned her head, to whisper a secret as she did so often, but suddenly her voice wasn't full of laughter, it was quiet and frightened but firm. "I love you. Forever and always."  
  
"I love you too, Andry," he whispered, but his arms suddenly dropped, because she was gone.  
  
He whirled around, his eyes darting wildly left and right. "Andry?" he shouted, feeling cold and small. It echoed in nothing, Andry Andry Andry Andry Andry? and he screamed.  
  
He woke that way, screaming, in a London flat with white sheets around him and pictures collecting dust on his bedside table.  
  
One of them caught his eye - a picture of her, of Andry, about fifteen (that's how old she was, in the dream, she was fifteen, he was sure of it, Andry was fifteen). The picture was smiling, only the smile wasn't in her almost-black eyes, which screamed empty nothingness along with him.  
  
***  
  
Bella had made choices she knew she might later regret deeply.  
  
Such as forgiving Lucius Malfoy. Such as giving up Severus. Or letting herself fall in love with Remus.  
  
She didn't know what he felt - at least a bond, she knew, a deep friendship, somewhat of an understanding, and she thought of it as something deeper still, but accepted that he might not.  
  
How many times she contemplated reversing one of those choices. But any attempt at undoing them would be futile. They were permanent. And every one of them might get someone killed - whether her, Narcissa, Severus, or Remus, it didn't matter.  
  
The guilt, no matter how indirect, haunted her.  
  
What if she hadn't confronted Lucius Malfoy, and only let him give the orders? He might have Disapparated before the Khastis Apparated.  
  
What if she had been in touch with Ted and Andry more? Perhaps she would have found out sooner that she was missing. As it was, she probably hadn't found out until Andry was dead.  
  
And there were so many more.  
  
Andry had made the wrong choices.  
  
Hadn't she?  
  
***  
  
A.N. - I must confront several possible conflicts I have been alerted to the presence of from Order of the Phoenix.  
  
1 - Sirius says he hasn't seen Bellatrix since he was Harry's age, fifteen. My Black Night version interpretation of this is thus. Before BN, as my timeline has long run, Sirius hadn't seen her for two years. Between then and when he saw her here, he discovers she had become a Death Eater, and thusly he hadn't seen the Bellatrix whom he regarded as his cousin since he was fifteen. Also - he was exaggerating.  
  
2 - Nymphadora speaks of her mum in the present tense when talking about the packing charms in chapter three. Before catching this, I had already planned for Ted to get remarried - after the point that I'm going to write to. The packing charm and Tonks' talk, by my book, all relates to her stepmum. Not really a conflict, but she also says her 'fool of a mother' named her Nymphadora. Well, humph to that, I say. Shows what she knows! She just doesn't like her name.  
  
And to end off the note, did I mention this was the last chapter of Black Night? Epilogue is next, and, well, then I'll start off on Black Dawning, and then Black Day. Black Dawning is from one year later, '78, and Black Day is '81. 


	19. Forever

Black Night Epilogue Rated R Lucius/Narcissa, Remus/Bellatrix  
  
Sirius' first memory was from sitting at Florean Fortescue's with Andry.  
  
He couldn't have been older than three, which left Andry near ten. She'd always been a small girl, but he knew she was strong. She'd lifted him onto a swirling red stool and bought him a milkshake, her laughter ringing in his ears like butterflies over warm wheat when he'd gotten a face full of chocolate.  
  
He remembered sitting on that stood, dangling his small feet, curling his fingers carefully around the red plastic seat on either side of his Muggle jeans, sucking in earnest at the shake. Andry had ordered a medium but Mr. Fortescue had given them a large for the same price.  
  
Words that had meant nothing to a three-year-old came back.  
  
"Is he your little brother?"  
  
A butterfly-silky-delicate laugh. "Close enough." He remembered grinning, looking up at her as she mussed his dark hair affectionately.  
  
He felt hot emotions rise in his chest and shoved them fiercely back down. Later, he thought to himself. Later he'd go and sit at that same stool, curl his fingers around the plastic that was now a different shade of red and chipped, he would let his feet hang even though he could put them down, and he would order a chocolate shake and maybe he'd cry. He had cried in public enough times in the past month that it didn't really bother him so much anymore.  
  
Years flashed through his mind, like still-frame photographs that Muggles took. He saw, behind darkened eyelids, Andry running towards the fire to meet him at her house, holding his hand and swinging it, and there were Bella and Narcissa, side by side, the dark, fallen-angel look without having ever fallen. He saw Andry looking terrified at the adults' table - she had been fourteen, and it was her first time dining with anyone older than Narcissa. Her parents had started to consider what men near her age from pureblood families might be suitable. Sirius, barely seven, had watched through a crack in the door, seen the way nineteen-year-old Justin Avery had studied her, and on Andry's behalf he had shivered, not understanding. Later, when she shuddered and cried, he had let her hold his hand and hug him. Another picture of Andry crying - it was Christmas break of her sixth year, and Sirius, nine years old, had hugged her and not let go, not understanding how a heart could truly be broken, much less IAndry'sI heart. Only knowing that she'd been insulted, been hurt, and that she needed him.  
  
Despite almost seven years' difference in their age, Sirius and Andry had been close, very close. Until Sirius had met James they had been best friends, and in a one-is-silver-and-the-other's-gold sort of way, they always had been, always would be.  
  
Except now Andry was dead.  
  
She'd been the one he'd always owled from school, the only reason he got homesick. She'd been the other shame of the family - the other Gryffindor, the other Black who judged by heart and soul instead of blood and house, who could replace expectation with love and who could forgive and smile.  
  
She'd been his family and his life away from Hogwarts.  
  
Now all that was left were memories, and love, and dreams, and a broken shell, a pale cruel mimicry of Andry in life, dressed in dark silk, lying buried in a wooden box.  
  
And a picture on his bedside table.  
  
And a small child who would never remember what it was like to have a mother.  
  
And Sirius wept for himself, so lost, for Andry, because she was gone, and for Nymphadora, who didn't even know what she had lost or what she had ever had, who couldn't understand why Daddy had been gone for a month and would be for a week more.  
  
In a way, Sirius left part of himself behind in a small ice-cream shop, sitting on a stool and kicking his feet back and forth, free of his parents for the day, innocent and happy and with Andry.  
  
Forever.  
  
***  
  
To Regulus Black 12 Grimmauld Place London  
  
Regulus-  
  
I'd like to thank you for taking care of Nymphadora while everything was happening. I don't know what could have happened to her otherwise. I'm also supposed to thank you on Ted's behalf - he still won't be back for a week, and he said he probably wouldn't write anyone. I'm watching Nymphadora and from what I hear, the two of you had a lot of fun.  
  
I'm sorry I didn't speak to you at the funeral, if it means anything. I honestly don't know why. Maybe I was angry at you for not telling me when you found out about Narcissa and Bella. I wouldn't have believed you anyway. I didn't believe James or Remus.  
  
If it does mean anything to you, you're still my brother and you are family - it it doesn't, I'm being sentimental without reason, you stupid bastard!  
  
Thanks again. See you around, kid.  
  
- Sirius  
  
***  
  
Nymphadora's bedtime was long past. The grandfather clock's pendulum twitched back and forth accusingly.  
  
Sirius smiled faintly as the child came up to him and tugged at his robes. "Padfoot?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes, pancake?"  
  
"Mama's not coming?" There was something pleading in the small girl's voice that made Sirius melt. His eyes stung again.  
  
"That's right," he answered softly. She'd been asking questions like this stubbornly for the past several weeks that he'd been taking care of her now - he'd managed to convince Moody to give him leave for five and a half so that Ted could go, could be on his own. But Nymphadora's voice wasn't stubborn now, it was frightened. Her lip trembled.  
  
He gathered her up and pulled her onto his lap, and she leaned back, resting her head near his shouder. Her eyes had closed, and Sirius bent his head above hers in time to see them flutter open and flicker from her natural dark green to a pale blue. "What about Daddy?" she whispered, and Sirius felt his heart break. For the first time, he felt a surge of anger towards Ted - how could he leave his daughter, at a time like this? He hugged her, fighting tears viciously, and kissed the top of her head. She looked up at him.  
  
"Daddy will come back," he whispered.  
  
"Will IyouI go away?"  
  
"I'll go home," Sirius answered, feeling a pang in his heart - home? where was home? - but then, "but I'll visit you a lot, pancake."  
  
She closed her eyes again and this time she relaxed. Sirius brought a hand up to stroke her hair, which had settled for baby-fine locks of fire.  
  
He felt his mouth form words, sweet and gentle, and very slow, as if the slightly less accusing pendulum had hypnotized him. He knew that this voice was the same one he used when he whispered her prayers every night - his Andry voice, he had begun to subconciously call it. Sometimes, he would have to choke back tears to let the words come out, but this time it was easier, as if it were right, or as if he was not the person speaking.  
  
"Hush little baby don't say a word," he murmered, closing his eyes. He could feel her tiny heart beating rhythmically, like steady drums, and both of them were breathing in and out quietly. The clock ticked and tocked.  
  
"Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird." She'll buy it from God himself if she has to, and send it down to you. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.  
  
"And if that mocking bird won't sing," but he knew it would, God's own mocking bird. Tick. Tock. It will sing the sweetest tune you ever heard, the sweetest you'll ever hear, like honey and sugar, like bees on the flowers, a song of life and death and dusk and dawn.  
  
"Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring." Shining like the sun, perfect and flawless, catching even the tiniest sparkle of light and holding it for you. Tick/tock.  
  
"And if that diamond ring won't shine. . ."  
  
But it would. Sirius didn't continue the low murmer of song. He was watching the child on his lap. Yes, she was asleep - he let her stay there, holding her, and slept himself, so that as night was cracked by a pale throad of light, he missed watching the stars that hinted the existance of the Andromeda galaxy glitter like diamonds before winking slowly out. He missed the song of the mockingbird that perched in the open window, singing the song of the dawn and dusk. 


End file.

Harry Potter, Angst, Romance